If you find your pet has heartworms, it is usually treatable, although treating heartworms after they are detectable is much more expensive than heartworm prevention medication. Heartworm disease has four stages that are similar to cancer. Treatment includes restricting exercise, anti-inflammatories, antibiotics, and drugs that kill both the adult heartworms and the heartworm larvae.
To find out if your dog has heartworms, your veterinarian will perform a blood test, and if that is positive, they will perform a second test. This is because heartworm treatment is expensive and intensive. The good news is that the vast majority of heartworm positive dogs that undergo treatment are able to successfully recover. The bad news is it can be a costly procedure.
Petroglyph Animal Hospital 