Treatments using heart worm medications for existing infestations are lengthy, and your pet may require surgical intervention too. As you can imagine even with pet insurance, things can add up, so it's best to seek out some heartworm prevention rather than wait and risk your luck (and your pet's health).

Fortunately for pet owners, there are a lot of heartworm protection choices on the market. It is important to note that there are medications used to treat an existing condition of heartworm, and there are different medications for prevention of heartworm.

In the past, arsenic medications were used for heartworm control once the infection had arisen, but many cats and some dogs suffered from pulmonary issues several days after the treatment, so generally speaking, these arsenic compounds are not used in feline heartworm treatment.

Heartworm treatment for dogs may typically last 18 months if a weaker compound is used, which is not really acceptable in all but a few cases.

Like any other medicine, heart worm medication can be difficult to administer, especially if you are dealing with another species who dont understand you are trying to help them. Often, heartworm pills are not one of dogs' favorite tastes, so luckily companies such as Merial who make Heartgard canine heartworm prevention manufacture chewable Heartgard Plus in beef flavor.

Heartgard has been shown to very effective, and bad news for heartworms. Heartgard works very well at treating heartworm. Of course, roundworms are a worry and this heartworm medicine, as well as Interceptor heartworm medicine will also give some levels of protection.

The Revolution program flea control tackles heart worm disease and many other parasites, but if your goal is simply to get rid of fleas, you may find Advantage for dogs to be a better option. Advantage flea control does not protect against heartworm, while Revolution does.

To simplify matters, Sentinel heartworm treatment is an all-in-one solution, protecting your pet from heartworm, fleas, roundworms and other parasites. Two products available today, Revolution or Sentinel, protect your pet from heartworm as well as from fleas. Don't forget to add flea protection to the mix, as most canine heartworm protection does not have this protection.