Drug profile

The FDA adverse-event record for Heartworm Prevention

93 FDA reports name Heartworm Prevention, a high-volume drug in the CVM extract. Species, reactions, and outcomes follow.

#808 of 2,679
by report volume (all drugs)
93
adverse-event reports
7.5%
death-coded share
Dog
most-reported species

Corpus placement

According to the FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine openFDA adverse-event extract, Heartworm Prevention ranks #806 of 2679 by total reports (93) and #667 of 1130 by death-coded share (7.5%). National dual: Milbemycin Oxime + Spinosad is #1 of 2679 drugs by total adverse-event reports (149,624) at death-coded-share rank 965 of 1130 drugs with at least 50 reports (2.3%); separately, Atlantic Salmon Transgenic Whole (Opafp-Ghc2 Rdna Construct Inserted Into The A-Locus In The Eo-1A Lineage) is #1 highest death-coded share at 97.8% (report rank #821).

149,624
Milbemycin Oxime + Spinosad reports (#1)
97.8%
Atlantic Salmon Transgenic Whole (Opafp-Ghc2 Rdna Construct Inserted Into The A-Locus In The Eo-1A Lineage) death share (#1)
#806
This drug, reports of 2679
#667
This drug, death share of 1130

Report volume reflects how common a breed or drug is and how often owners and vets file — not actual risk. Death-coded share ranks are limited to entries with enough reports to be meaningful. The two maps do not agree at #1.

Release-over-release change

What changed in the latest FDA data snapshot

PlainBreed reconstructed the prior snapshot from dated openFDA partitions through 2025 Q4, then compared it with the 2026-07-27 openFDA export. Heartworm Prevention has 93 reports now versus 92 in that prior snapshot: 1 more (1.1%).

Report change
+1
Death-coded reports
+0
Death-coded share
−0.1 pts

This compares reported-event counts in two source snapshots. It does not establish a change in real-world risk, product safety, or disease incidence.

Subscribe to Heartworm Prevention changes

Signature read: 93 reports place Heartworm Prevention in the upper third of FDA AER volume (#808 of 2,679).

Important: Adverse event reports do not establish that a drug caused or contributed to the event. Consult your veterinarian before making treatment decisions.
93
Total Reports
7
Deaths Reported
7.5%
Death-coded share of reports

Active Ingredients

Heartworm Prevention

Administration Routes

UnknownOralSubcutaneousTopical

Species Affected

Dog 93

Most Affected Breeds

Retriever - Labrador 11
Crossbred Canine/dog 7
Retriever - Golden 5
Bichon Frise 5
Beagle 4
Terrier - Boston 3
Lhasa Apso 3
Dog (unknown) 3
Spitz - German Pomeranian 3
Terrier (unspecified) 3

Most Reported Reactions

Vomiting 23
Lethargy (see also Central nervous system depression in 'Neurological') 16
Lack of efficacy - NOS 13
Lack of efficacy (endoparasite) - heartworm 10
INEFFECTIVE, LOSS OF EFFECT 9
Other abnormal test result NOS 8
Anorexia 6
Elevated alanine aminotransferase (ALT) 6
Death by euthanasia 6
Diarrhoea 5
Panting 5
Abnormal radiograph finding 5

Outcome Breakdown

Ongoing
40 (43.0%)
Recovered/Normal
24 (25.8%)
Outcome Unknown
22 (23.7%)
Euthanized
6 (6.5%)
Died
1 (1.1%)

Heartworm Prevention: high report volume in the FDA AER row

Read these counts as reporting volume, not risk: per our methodology, a widely-prescribed drug will rack up more raw FDA reports in a given year than a rarely-used one at an identical true rate, so we recommend comparing within similar-exposure products rather than across the full 2025 catalog.

High-volume nationwide drug peers

Two openFDA-derived peer sets for Heartworm Prevention, both floored at ≥50 reports so the neighborhoods stay in the advertised mass.

Similar report volume

Nearest other drugs by FDA report count (93 here).

Similar death-coded share

Nearest other drugs by death-coded share (7.5% here), distinct from the volume row.

What to do with this drug

A report does not prove a drug caused the reaction; consult a veterinarian before acting on this data.

Source: FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine openFDA Animal & Veterinary Adverse Events (CVM AER) · 2025

openFDA Animal & Veterinary Adverse Events (FDA CVM) for Heartworm Prevention (#808 of 2,679 by report volume); death-coded 7.5%. PlainBreed drug row · report volume stamp 93 · vintage 2025.

Informational only. FDA adverse-event reports are voluntary and do not prove causation; consult a veterinarian before acting on them. Verify with FDA CVM →