Your pet should be tested for heartworm infection before he or she is placed on a preventive, in order to avoid any harmful or possibly fatal complications. For instance, if a heartworm-infected dog is started on monthly preventive, immature heartworm (called microfilariae) can die suddenly, causing a serious, shock-type reaction. In addition, preventives won’t kill adult heartworms, so an infected dog needs to be started on a treatment plan.