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My dog finished heartworm treatment. What heart signs to look for?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Mixed Breed | Female | spayed | 3 years old | 22 lbs

My dog finished heartworm treatment a month ago. Would she show signs of heart problems yet. Does her stomach look bloated?

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Answered By Destini R. Holloway, DVM

Veterinarian

Published on October 23rd, 2023

hThanks for visiting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Heartworm treatment can be rough on your pets body. This involves injections given by your vet on 3 separate occasionas. The main concern after the treatment is creating a pulmonary embolism, or clot in the airway, which lead s to shortness of breath, lethargy, and inappetance. A bloated abdomen cannot be determined in this postiion and often requires a physical examination. A bloated abdomen from a heart condition if often not seen unless the heart is very far gone. This would have been likely detected in the work-up for your fur baby to determine if your pet is in congestive heart failure via a chest x-ray. Right sided congestive heart failure is what leads to a bloated abdomen. I hope that this helps and if you still have concerns about your pets health after starting heartworm treatment, then the next best step is a proper physical exam to determine if any heart murmurs exist and potentially repeat x-rays of the chest and abdomen if the physical exam warrants these. Best of luck with your fur baby Ayla moving forward. Take care. : )

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