Canine Heartworm Antigen (Rapid Test)
The canine heartworm antigen rapid test checks a dog's blood for a protein released by adult female heartworms. It can help detect heartworm infection, but very early infections may be missed, so your vet may repeat it or add a microfilaria test.
- Sample
- Serum or blood
- Quantity
- As advised
- Report
- Confirmed when you book
- Collection
- Free in Bhopal
What this test checks
- Heartworm (Dirofilaria immitis) antigen, a protein released mainly by adult female worms
- Whether the antigen was detected or not detected in the dog's serum or blood
- Infection with adult heartworms, even in dogs that do not show signs yet
Benefits of this test
- Can help detect heartworm infection in dogs that still look healthy.
- Can help find adult worm infection even when no young worms are seen in the blood.
- Uses only a small blood or serum sample.
- Gives your vet a starting point before deciding on prevention, treatment or more tests.
- Useful for screening dogs that come from, or travel to, places where heartworm occurs.
When your vet may advise it
- A dog with a soft cough, tiredness on walks, fast breathing or weight loss.
- Before your vet starts heartworm prevention, or when prevention was missed or stopped.
- A dog adopted or bought from another city or state, or with an unknown history.
- When a microfilaria test or blood smear has shown young worms, to check whether they are heartworm.
- Routine check-ups, when your vet suggests regular heartworm screening.
- A dog that faints, collapses or has a swollen belly - see your vet at once.
About this test
Heartworm disease is caused by Dirofilaria immitis, a long, thin worm that lives in the heart and the large blood vessels of the lungs. Mosquitoes spread it. When a mosquito bites an infected dog, it takes in tiny young worms called microfilariae. These develop inside the mosquito, which can then pass them to another dog when it bites. Inside the new dog the young worms grow slowly into adults. A dog can look healthy for a long time. Later it may cough, tire quickly on walks, breathe fast, lose weight or, in severe cases, collapse or get a swollen belly.
This rapid kit looks for heartworm antigen. An antigen is a substance from a germ or parasite that a test can pick up; here it is a protein released mainly by adult female worms. A few drops of serum or blood are placed on a small test device, and a coloured line or spot shows whether the antigen was found. The kit is commonly used to screen dogs before heartworm prevention is started, to check dogs with a cough or tiredness, and to test dogs that come from, or travel to, places where heartworm occurs.
The test has limits. Young worms do not release enough antigen, so a dog infected recently can test negative, and an infection with only a few worms or only male worms may also be missed. For this reason the lab or your vet may repeat the test later or add a microfilaria test, which looks for the young worms in the blood. The kit is made for heartworm and is not designed to find other filarial worms. A registered veterinarian reads the result together with the dog's signs, history and other tests, such as a chest X-ray, before deciding on treatment or further tests.
How to prepare
Usually no special preparation is needed; a small blood sample is taken, and it helps to share the dog's history of heartworm prevention and travel. The lab confirms the method, sample needs and reporting time when you book.
Reading the result
A registered veterinarian reads the result together with the dog's signs, history and other tests. A positive result means heartworm antigen was found and usually leads to more checks before any treatment. A negative result makes adult heartworm infection less likely but does not rule out a very early or light infection, so your vet may repeat the test later or add a microfilaria test.
Questions about Canine Heartworm Antigen (Rapid Test)
What does a heartworm antigen test show in dogs?
Can a dog have heartworm and still test negative?
How do dogs get heartworm?
Where can I get a dog heartworm test in Bhopal?
Before you book this test
Why this notice: so you know, before you book, how a test is done, what its limits are and who is responsible.
- Where it is tested. Some tests are done wholly or partly by an independent partner laboratory. The lab tells you before booking if this test is sent out, and the report names the laboratory that did it.
- What a result can and cannot tell you. No test is right every time. A normal result does not rule out every disease, and an abnormal result does not prove one. A registered veterinarian should read the report with the animal’s signs and history before any treatment is started, changed or stopped.
- The sample. A sample that is clotted, too small, wrongly labelled, leaking or too old may be rejected or reported with a note, and the lab may ask for a fresh one.
- Reporting time. Confirmed when you book. Times are estimates, not guarantees, and the lab confirms the time when you book.
- Emergencies. A booking or a pending report must not delay urgent care. If an animal has collapsed, struggles to breathe, has fits or bleeds heavily, call a veterinarian at once.
Please read our Terms of Service, Medical Disclaimer, Privacy Policy and Refund and Cancellation Policy. Pashupatinath Vet Lab is operated by Duaji Healthcare and Tech Private Limited. This page is general information and does not replace a veterinarian’s advice.
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Canine Heartworm Antigen (Rapid Test): Bhopal and the big cities of Madhya Pradesh
Free sample collection anywhere in Bhopal. From the other cities, send the sample by courier, bus parcel or through your local veterinarian, and the report comes to you online.
Free collection in these Bhopal areas
Read more
Heartworm Tests in Dogs and Cats
Heartworm is checked with antigen kits that find proteins from adult female worms, and with microscope or RT-PCR tests for the tiny young worms in blood. Cats are tested differently from dogs.
18 Oct 2026