Heartworm Treatment Costs for Dogs: What To Expect When Treating Heartworms in a Dog
Chewy
While heartworm prevention for dogs and cats has become the standard of preventive care for pets in the U.S., more than one million dogs are still testing positive for the heartworm parasite.
Although some parts of the country are more severely affected than others, heartworm disease has been confirmed in all 50 states.
Heartworm disease in dogs is easily preventable but can still happen:
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If you missed your dog’s monthly dose of heartworm prevention or it wasn't absorbed into the body correctly
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If you were unaware of heartworm disease until your dog tested positive
Heartworm Treatment Costs for Dogs
When it comes to heartworm treatment costs for dogs, keep in mind that price will be influenced by where you live, the type of office or vet clinic, how sick your dog is, their size, and other factors.
The total cost of treating heartworms in dogs can range from around $600 to more than $3000. It’s always a good idea to ask your vet what costs to expect when dealing with heartworm disease for your dog.
Let's break down all heartworm treatment costs for dogs.
Heartworm Test
Before being treated for heartworms, a dog must first test positive for the disease. A heartworm test is a standard test during routine annual exams for dogs or when a dog has any signs of heartworm disease.
The most common heartworm tests (called antigen tests) can be done right in your vet’s office, where the results may be available within minutes. It’s recommended that all dogs be tested annually for heartworm disease, even if they are on heartworm prevention.
A heartworm antigen test may range anywhere between $35 to $75.
Confirmatory Test
If the in-office heartworm test is positive your veterinarian will recommend a confirmatory test to verify the positive test result. The confirmatory test should be of a different type than the initial heartworm test. Tests that check for the presence of microfilariae (immature heartworms in the blood) are common.
Since no test is perfect—and heartworm treatment is expensive and can have significant side effects—your veterinarian will want to be certain that treatment is necessary before proceeding.
Confirmatory tests will vary but generally range in price between $20 to $40.
Additional Testing
Once a dog has been fully confirmed as being heartworm positive, additional tests such as chest X-rays and sometimes an ultrasound of the heart (echocardiogram), lungs, or other parts of the body, are done to understand the stage and severity of the disease.
Staging helps the veterinarian assess the level of damage that has already been done by the heartworms and the dog's prognosis, as well as determine specific treatment and post-treatment regimens.
The cost of chest X-rays generally varies from $125 to $200, and the cost of an echocardiogram can be between $300 to $1,000.
Initial Treatment
Treatment generally begins as soon as possible (Day 0) after a positive diagnosis of heartworm disease.
Initial treatment steps are taken to:
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Stabilize the dog's condition so they can better handle heartworm treatment
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Eliminate immature heartworms
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Decrease the risks associated with melarsomine (the medication that is used to kill the adult heartworms)
Doxycycline and Steroids
Before melarsomine is administered, affected dogs are usually put on a month's course of doxycycline ($30 to $150), which is an antibiotic that kills bacteria that are usually associated with heartworms.
Dogs that are showing symptoms of disease, such as coughing or exercise intolerance, are generally also started on a steroid ($10 to $40) to help reduce inflammation.
The cost of doxycycline and steroids vary depending on the size of your dog. Other medications may be needed as well.
Heartworm Preventative
A prescription heartworm preventative is usually administered on day 0 and day 30, to kill heartworm larvae. A month long waiting period is observed after the initial 30 days of treatment. Heartworm prevention should then continue all year round. Heartworm tablets typically cost between $6 to $18.
Exercise Restriction
It’s important to note that as soon as a dog is diagnosed with heartworm disease, exercise restriction should ensue. Exercise restriction generally consists of strict crate rest. Dogs should be on a leash anytime they are outside of the crate to eat, spending time with their people, urinating, and defecating.
Final Stages of Treatment
The final stages of heartworm treatment serve to kill the adult heartworms. This “adulticide” treatment generally involves three injections of melarsomine.
On days 60, 90, and 91 of the treatment process an injection of melarsomine is administered deep into the lumbar musculature of your dog’s back. The dosage of melarsomine is weight dependent.
A round of steroids ($10 to $40) is usually prescribed for several weeks after each injection. Pain control may also be needed.
A series of melarsomine injections and the associated care your dog will receive while in the hospital may cost anywhere from approximately $500 to$1,500, depending on the weight of your dog.
Strict exercise restriction should continue for at least another month after the final melarsomine injection, followed by a gradual return to normal activity levels.
Follow-Up Testing
Approximately one month (day 120) after the third melarsomine injection, your dog’s blood should be evaluated for the presence of microfilariae. The microfilaria test costs between $20 to $40.
If the microfilaria test is positive, the dog should continue heartworm prevention for four weeks and then be retested.
Approximately nine months after the third melarsomine injection (one year after the initial diagnosis of heartworm disease), a heartworm test is run ($35 to $75). If the test is positive, the dog should be treated with another round of doxycycline ($30 to $150), followed by two injections of melarsomine 24 hours apart ($500 to $1,000).
Caval Syndrome
If your dog is very ill or weakened due to heartworm disease, your veterinarian may not consider them to be a good candidate for melarsomine treatment.
For example, dogs that are very severely affected by heartworm disease may develop a complication known as caval syndrome. Caval syndrome occurs when adult heartworms occupy so much of the right side of the heart that they disrupt the flow of blood from the heart to the lungs.
Caval syndrome is characterized by collapse, shock, and destruction of red blood cells. It is usually fatal.The only form of treatment is surgical removal of heartworms from the heart, which must be done on an emergency basis. This surgery can cost anywhere between $3,000 to $6,000.
Cost-Benefit of Heartworm Prevention vs. Treatment
The cost of heartworm prevention is much lower when compared to the cost of having to treat your dog for heartworms.
Heartworm treatment is undoubtedly expensive. It is also uncomfortable for the dog, has significant side effects, and requires prolonged activity restriction.
Melarsomine treatment must be preceded by a series of diagnostic tests and treatments that may cost anywhere from an additional $100 to over $1,000. These costs will vary depending on the size of your dog, the severity of disease, and the recommendations of your veterinarian.
Then, the cost of melarsomine heartworm treatment may vary from $500 to $1,500. If the initial doses of treatment are not completely effective, repeat treatment may be required, which may cause this cost to double.
Fortunately, there are readily available, affordable, heartworm preventive medications that can help protect your dog from this disease in the first place. It’s important to remember that as a pet parent you follow directions on the product label and to not lapse in coverage.
Heartworm prevention requires a prescription from your veterinarian and is typically administered monthly as a tablet or topical solution that costs between $6 and $18 per month. It’s generally recommended that heartworm medications be administered year-round to best prevent against these deadly parasites.
