How Much Does Heartworm Treatment Cost for Dogs?

If you’ve recently received the troubling news that your dog has tested positive for heartworms, you may be feeling overwhelmed by the potential treatment costs can vary significantly based on the severity of heartworm disease in dogs and the necessary interventions., which can vary significantly from $600 to as much as $6,000. This article is essential for you to read because it not only breaks down these expenses, including initial testing and medications, but also highlights the potentially exorbitant costs of advanced surgical treatments. Moreover, it explores the more economical preventive measures that can help you manage heartworm risks effectively. Understanding these options is crucial because it could save you a significant amount of money in the long run while ensuring your pet’s health remains a top priority.

Key Takeaways

• Initial heartworm treatment with medications can cost between $600 and $1,000, depending on severity and vet fees.
• Confirmatory tests to verify a positive diagnosis range from $20 to $40.
• Costs for chest x-rays and echocardiograms to determine disease stage range from $125 to $1,000.
• Surgical intervention for severe heartworm cases can cost between $3,000 and $6,000.
• Follow-up testing post-treatment costs between $35 and $75 to ensure the heartworms are eradicated.

1. The Positive Heartworm Test

To effectively treat heartworms, your dog must first test positive for the disease. This involves conducting two primary blood tests: the antigen test and the microfilariae test, both crucial in the diagnosis of heartworm disease in dogs. These tests can be conveniently performed at your vet’s office, with results often available within minutes. Annual testing is recommended for all dogs, even those on heartworm prevention, to ensure early detection and treatment.

Here is a detailed comparison of the two tests:

Test Type	Detection Timing	What It Detects	Details	Cost (Private Animal Hospital)	Cost (Shelter or Rescue)
Antigen Test	~5 months after the initial bite	Antigen proteins released by adult female heartworms	This test identifies if your dog is infected by detecting proteins released by adult heartworms.	$35-$75	Included
Microfilariae Test	~6 months after the initial bite	Microfilariae (heartworm offspring) in blood work	This test checks for the presence of microfilariae, which are the offspring of adult heartworms.	$20-$40	Included

The total cost for heartworm testing at a private animal hospital can range from approximately $55 to $115, depending on the type of tests conducted. At shelters or rescues, these tests are often included at no additional cost, which can help pet owners manage heartworm treatment costs.

2. The Confirmatory Test

After a positive heartworm test, you vet want to conduct a confirmatory test to verify the accuracy of the initial diagnosis.

Since no test is foolproof, and false positives can occur, this step ensures that your dog truly has heartworms before moving forward with treatment, which can be both costly and have significant side effects. Veterinarians typically recommend this additional test because heartworm treatment is expensive, and they want to be certain that it’s necessary before proceeding.

Although confirmatory tests add to the overall cost, they are relatively affordable, generally ranging from $20 to $40. By confirming the diagnosis, you can avoid unnecessary treatments and the associated higher costs.

3. Determining the Stage of Heartworm Disease

Once your dog has been fully confirmed as positive for heartworm disease, it’s crucial to determine the stage of the disease through additional tests. These tests, such as chest x-rays, echocardiography, and blood tests, help the veterinarian assess the level of damage caused by the heartworms and plan the appropriate treatment and post-treatment care. Staging is essential to tailor the treatment plan according to the severity of the disease and ensure the best possible outcome for your dog.

Below is a table summarizing the necessary tests for determining the stage of heartworm disease:

Test	Purpose	Detection Timing	Cost Range
Echocardiogram	Heart ultrasound to test for adult heartworms.	Adult Stages	$250-$350
Chest X-ray/Radiograph	Detects enlargement or swelling in the pulmonary artery, suggesting heartworms.	Adult Stages	$75-$500
Additional Blood Tests	Complete blood count (CBC) to detect heartworm-related issues in blood, kidneys, or liver.	5 Months and Up	$100-$200
Electrocardiogram	Helps diagnose heartworms by recording unusual heart rhythms.	Adult Stages	$25-$65

The total cost for determining the stage of heartworm disease can range from approximately $200 to $1,500, depending on the tests performed and whether you have pet insurance. $450 to $1,115 depending on the specific tests required and your veterinarian’s fees. This cost is essential to ensure accurate diagnosis and effective treatment planning, helping to safeguard your dog’s health and well-being.

4. Treatment

Treatment for heartworm disease typically begins the day after a positive diagnosis and involves 4 steps: weaken adult heartworms, eliminate immature heartworms, restrict your dog’s activity and use the medication used to kill adult heartworms. Rarely, if your dog’s status is so severe where standard treatments like melarsomine aren’t effective or feasible, your vet may need to intervene surgically, which can significantly increase heartworm treatment costs.

For a detailed guide on the treatment for heartworms in dogs, refer to our comprehensive article.

Your veterinarian will determine the most appropriate treatment plan based on the stage of the disease, ensuring that each step is carefully tailored to your dog’s needs, particularly in light of the heartworm treatment cost.

Doxycycline and Steroids

Before administering melarsomine, an antiparasitic medication used to treat heartworm disease, affected dogs are typically prescribed doxycycline. Doxycycline, costing between $85 and $150 for a 30-day supply, is an antibiotic that helps weaken adult heartworms by killing Wolbachia, an amoeba on the worms.

Additionally, if your dog exhibits symptoms like coughing or exercise intolerance, steroids may be prescribed to reduce inflammation and blood clots. Steroid treatments can range in cost from $40 for a 30-day supply to $50-$150 for a single injection.

Heartworm Preventative

This medication, typically costing between $6 to $18 per month, is administered on days 1 and 30 of the treatment to kill heartworm larvae. After the initial 30 days, a waiting period of one month is observed before continuing the preventative. It’s essential to continue this medication for the remainder of your dog’s life to stop any current infection and prevent new ones.

Exercise Restriction

As soon as your dog is diagnosed with heartworm disease, it’s essential to start limiting their physical activity, which typically involves strict crate rest. This is crucial because exercise can worsen complications and hinder the recovery process. Ensuring that your dog remains calm and inactive plays a vital role in successful heartworm treatment; overexertion can lead to severe issues, including embolisms caused by dying worms, which are signs of heartworm disease.

To support a smooth recovery, it’s important to significantly limit your dog’s activity. Therefore, you should focus on keeping your dog comfortable while minimizing physical exertion by using a crate or playpen to restrict movement and prevent jumping or running. In addition, creating this controlled environment is key to your dog’s long-term care and overall recovery. Moreover,consider providing a Thundershirt or similar anxiety wrap to help reduce stress and promote calmness during the recovery period.

Learn about how to care for your dog during heartworm treatment here!

Melarsomine

The final stages of heartworm treatment focus on killing the adult heartworms, which is accomplished through a series of melarsomine injections. This “adulticide” treatment typically involves three injections of melarsomine, an antiparasitic medication that is crucial in heartworm treatment. Due to its derivation from an organic arsenic compound, melarsomine carries some risks, yet it remains highly effective, killing more than 98% of worms during treatment as per the American Heartworm Society’s guidelines.

These injections are administered deep into the lumbar muscles on days 60, 90, and 91 of the treatment process, with the dosage being weight-dependent, as outlined by the American Heartworm Society.

After each injection, a round of steroids, costing between $10 to $40, is usually prescribed for several weeks to manage inflammation.

The entire series of melarsomine injections can range from approximately $500 to $1,500, depending on your dog’s weight. It’s important to continue strict exercise restriction for six to eight weeks following the final injection to ensure a smooth recovery.

Surgery (Worst Case)

In severe cases where standard treatments like melarsomine aren’t effective or feasible, surgical intervention may become necessary to remove heartworms directly from the heart and blood vessels.

The cost factors for heartworm surgery can be substantial, typically ranging from $3,000 to $6,000, including preoperative testing, the surgery itself, and post-operative care, which can be overwhelming without pet insurance.

5. Follow-Up Testing

Approximately one month after the third melarsomine injection, a microfilariae test should be conducted to detect the presence of heartworm larvae. This test typically costs between $20 and $40. If the test results are positive, your dog should continue heartworm prevention for four weeks before retesting.

Additionally, around three months after the final melarsomine injection, a heartworm test, costing between $35 and $75, should be performed to confirm the treatment’s success. If the heartworm test is positive, a second round of treatment may be necessary, including doxycycline ($30 to $150) and two melarsomine injections 24 hours apart ($500 to $1,000).

Complications and Long-term Costs

Though treatments exist to combat heartworm disease, it’s not always easy to rid your dog of the infection entirely, and the cost of heartworm treatment is estimated to range between $600 and $6000. Even after the worms are gone, long-lasting complications can still occur:

• Caval syndrome: this condition typically arises during the final stages of heartworm infection, where a heavy concentration of worms obstructs blood flow back to the heart, leading to collapse, shock, and destruction of red blood cells. Without prompt surgical intervention, it can be fatal.
• Lasting damage: as studies have shown that even after successful treatment, dogs can suffer long-term damage due to the presence of heartworm remnants, leading to continued vascular and pulmonary issues.

For more information on the long-term effects of heartworm disease in dogs, read our detailed article.

Cost-Benefit of Heartworm Prevention vs Treatment

When you compare the cost of heartworm prevention to the expenses of treating your dog for heartworms, it becomes clear that prevention is significantly more affordable. Heartworm treatment is not only expensive but also uncomfortable for the dog, leading to significant side effects and requiring extended periods of restricted activity.

Before melarsomine treatment can begin, a series of diagnostic tests and preliminary treatments is necessary, potentially adding an additional $100 to over $1,000 to the overall cost. These expenses will depend on factors such as your dog’s size, the severity of the disease, and your veterinarian’s recommendations.

Following this, the cost of melarsomine treatment itself can range from $500 to $1,500. If the initial course of treatment isn’t fully effective, additional treatments may be necessary, which could double the costs.

Fortunately, there are accessible and affordable prescription medications that are highly effective at preventing heartworm disease. These preventive medications require a prescription from your veterinarian and are typically administered monthly, with tablets costing between $50 and $90 per month.

Additionally, you can choose an injection option for prevention. Heartgard Plus a heartworm prevention injection that lasts for 1 month, costing between $54 and $90

To effectively protect your dog from these dangerous parasites, it is generally recommended to administer heartworm medications year-round.

Learn more about why heartworm prevention remains crucial for senior dogs .

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the cheapest way to treat heartworms?

The cheapest way to treat heartworms is through the “Slow Kill Method,” which involves targeting only the microfilariae (the heartworm larvae) and allowing the existing adult heartworms to die off naturally. While this method is less expensive and doesn’t require a rest period or the use of adulticide, it is generally not recommended. Adult heartworms remain dangerous to your dog, and their presence can lead to serious complications over time.

What happens if I can’t afford heartworm treatment?

You might consider applying for Care Credit or Scratchpay, which are accepted by most veterinarians. Additionally, you can reach out to your local humane society, animal shelter, or ASPCA, as they often have information on low-cost vets in your area that can assist with treatment.

What percentage of dogs survive heartworm treatment?

With proper treatment and care, the survival rate for dogs undergoing heartworm treatment is estimated to be between 70% and 90%. However, it’s important to note that some dogs may experience permanent damage to their heart and lungs even after successful treatment.

Conclusion

Heartworm treatment for dogs can range from $600 to $6,000, depending on the severity and necessary interventions. Initial costs include testing, with prices ranging from $20 to $115, followed by staging tests like chest x-rays and echocardiograms, costing between $125 and $1,000, contributing to the overall heartworm treatment cost. Treatment involves medications such as doxycycline, melarsomine injections, and possible surgical intervention, significantly affecting costs. Follow-up testing and potential long-term complications add to the overall expense. Preventive measures, such as monthly medication or injections, are significantly more cost-effective, highlighting the importance of early prevention to avoid these substantial treatment costs and ensure your pet’s long-term health.

References:

• Martini, J. R., White, H., Kilgore, P. E., & Dicks, N. (2021). The impact of climate change on zoonotic diseases: A comprehensive review. Frontiers in Veterinary Science, 8, 564. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8175642/
• Jefferson University. (n.d.). Flea control and prevention in domestic animals. Jefferson Digital Commons. https://jdc.jefferson.edu/msaheor/31/
• Telford, S. R. (2003). Emerging tick-borne infections. Infectious Disease Clinics of North America, 17(1), 17-33. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10924336/