Heartgard Plus

Dosage:

HEARTGARD® Plus (ivermectin/ pyrantel) Chewables should be administered orally at monthly intervals at the recommended minimum dose level of 6.0 mcg of ivermectin per kilogram (2.72 mcg/lb) of body weight. The recommended dosage schedule for prevention of canine heartworm disease is as follows:

 

Dog Weight	Chewables per Month	Ivermectin Content	Pack Colour
To 11 kg	1	68 mcg	Blue
12 - 22 kg	1	136 mcg	Green
23 - 45 kg	1	272 mcg	Brown

 

Directions for Use:

Heartgard (Ivermectin) is given once a month year round for the prevention of heartworm disease. The usual dose of ivermectin in dogs up to 11kg is 68mcg – 1 tablet from blue pack, for 12 to 22 kg is 136mcg – 1 tablet from green pack and for 23 to 45 kg is 272mcg – 1 tablet from brown pack. Dogs over 45 kg are given a combination of the tablets.

 

Active Ingredients:

Ivermectin, Pyrantel emboate

 

Manufacturer:

Merial

 

 

Heartworm

Heartworm disease is a serious illness that can rob your dog of its health and even its life.

Heartworm larvae are transmitted by infected mosquitoes that bite the dog and deposit heartworm larvae on the dog's skin. The larvae migrate through the tissue and into the bloodstream of the dog where they continue developing. By the time clinical signs of heartworm disease appear, the disease can already be in its advanced stages.

Heartworms spend their adult lives in the right side of the heart and the large blood vessels that connect the heart to the lungs. The adult worms block the heart and major blood vessels leading from the heart to the lungs, liver, and kidneys and can grow up to 12 inches long.

Heartworm disease in dogs (dirofilariasis) is a serious and potentially fatal disease. Heartworms spend their adult lives in the right side of the heart and the large blood vessels that connect the heart to the lungs. The adult worms block the heart and major blood vessels leading from the heart to the lungs, liver, and kidneys.

Heartworms are transmitted from one dog to another by mosquitoes, which pick up tiny immature heartworms, called microfilariae, when they bite an infected dog. Larvae develop and are then transmitted to another dog when that dog is bitten by the infected mosquito.

Signs of heartworm disease can be subtle and difficult to detect until its later stages. As the disease progresses, signs begin to appear. Contact your veterinarian immediately if you notice coughing, difficulty breathing, sluggishness and less energy for exercise in your dog. Adult heartworms cause serious harm to your dog's heart, lungs and certain internal organs. Left untreated, heartworm disease can result in loss of consciousness and death.

The most common method for heartworm testing is for a veterinarian to collect a small blood sample from a dog and evaluate the sample using a specialized test kit that identifies the heartworm antigen. Or, your veterinarian may use other types of tests that detect the presence of microscopic microfilariae, an early stage in the heartworm life cycle.

Pet owners can use HEARTGARD Plus, the #1 veterinarian-recommended preventive on the market to help prevent heartworm disease. HEARTGARD Plus kills tissue larval stages of heartworms and helps prevent them from developing into adults and causing heartworm disease. In an unprotected dog, heartworm larvae that are transmitted by an infected, biting mosquito mature and ultimately migrate to the heart and important arteries.

How HEARTGARD® Plus (ivermectin/pyrantel) Works

HEARTGARD Plus is effective in helping to prevent heartworm disease in dogs when given monthly as directed. Every bite from an infected mosquito can introduce new heartworm larvae into your dog's bloodstream and reinfect an unprotected dog. Use of HEARTGARD Plus each month as directed kills immature heartworms introduced to the dog in the last 30 days, preventing the development of adult heartworms.

HEARTGARD Plus also kills canine hookworms and in the dog's intestinal tract.

HEARTGARD® Plus (ivermectin/pyrantel): General Information

Heartworms can infect your dog without you knowing it. The best way to protect your dog is to prevent heartworm disease – the risk, expense, and emotional toll of treatment are significant.

HEARTGARD Plus helps prevent canine heartworm disease, and treats and controls roundworms and hookworms, too.

• HEARTGARD Plus is the veterinarian's #1 choice for heartworm disease prevention in dogs.
• HEARTGARD Plus is made with real beef – dogs love the taste.
• HEARTGARD Plus used monthly as directed can help prevent heartworm infection in your dog – and can help your dog avoid the risk, stress, and long periods of confinement that go along with treatment for canine heartworm disease.
• HEARTGARD Plus is available in three dosage strengths for dogs of different weights. Your veterinarian will select the dosage that's right for your dog.
• HEARTGARD Plus is a convenient, easy-to-give Chewable that most dogs will eat right out of your hand.
• HEARTGARD Plus has a wide margin of safety for dogs of all breeds and sizes when used as directed. It is approved for puppies as young as 6 weeks, pregnant or breeding female dogs, and stud dogs.
• HEARTGARD Plus: Easy to Give. Protection to Live.

 

Heartworm Disease Prevention versus Treatment

Prevention is safer, easier, and far more economical.

Heartworm disease treatment can be dangerous for your dog and stressful for your family.

• Treatment can be lengthy and costly.
• The approved treatment for heartworm disease involves use of a product containing arsenic.
• Treatment typically requires hospitalization of the dog at the veterinary clinic followed by an extended period of inactivity at home.

Complexity and risks associated with eliminating heartworm disease in dogs are influenced by the dog's overall health, the extent of the worm population, and degree of damage that has resulted from the presence of heartworms. More than one round of treatment may be required in some cases.

Eliminating adult heartworms can pose serious risks to dogs because arteries may have been damaged by heartworm-related lesions and obstructed by worms that have been killed to treat the disease.

If your dog has not been tested for the presence of heartworms, your veterinarian can perform the appropriate testing.

Prevention is the sensible choice.

It's easy to see that treatment for heartworm infection can be risky and expensive. It's also easy to help protect your dog with a monthly dose of HEARTGARD® Plus (ivermectin/pyrantel).

Complexity and risks associated with eliminating heartworm disease in dogs are influenced by the dog's overall health, the extent of the worm population, and degree of damage that has resulted from the presence of heartworms. More than one round of treatment may be required in some cases.

Eliminating adult heartworms can pose serious risks to dogs because arteries may have been damaged by heartworm-related lesions and obstructed by worms that have been killed to treat the disease.

When given monthly as directed, HEARTGARD Plus Real-Beef Chewable is effective in helping to prevent heartworm disease in dogs

Treatment and Control of Hookworms and Roundworms

Treating your dog with HEARTGARD® Plus (ivermectin/pyrantel) as directed can eliminate pre-existing populations of roundworms (Toxocara canis, Toxascaris leonina) and hookworms (Ancylostoma caninum, Uncinaria stenocephala, Ancylostoma braziliense) and reduce the incidence of re-infection by these parasites.

Monthly administration can reduce the risk of re-infection by reducing the burden of roundworm eggs and hookworm larvae in your dog's environment.

Safety

Heartgard Plus chewables have a wide margin of safety in all breeds of dogs, including stud dogs. breeding bitches and puppies 6 weeks of age and older. Please consult your veterinarian before using this product if your dog is not currently on heartworm prevention.

HEARTGARD is well tolerated. All dogs should be tested for heartworm infection before starting a preventive program. Following the use of HEARTGARD, digestive and neurological side effects have rarely been reported. For more information, contact your veterinarian.

NOT TO BE USED FOR ANY PURPOSE, OR IN ANY MANNER, CONTRARY TO THE LABEL DIRECTIONS UNLESS AUTHORISED UNDER APPROPRIATE LEGISLATION. FOR USE ONLY ON DOGS.

Common misspellings: hartguard, heartguard, heartgaurd, hart gard, hartgard, heart guard