Prevalence of cardiac arrhythmias and R-R interval variation in healthy Thoroughbred horses during official Chuckwagon races and recovery

Massie, Shannon; Bezugley, R.J.; McDonald, Katherine; Léguillette, Renaud

doi:10.1016/j.tvjl.2020.105583

Cited by 7 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…A second limitation is the low number of arrhythmic events (21/38 horses had arrhythmias). This prevalence fits within the published range of 28%–92% in healthy horses, 13 , 16 , 19 , 33 , 34 although this prevalence increases with the intensity of exercise. 32 This study was conducted in apparently healthy racehorses in training with mostly isolated arrhythmia.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 89%

Validation of an equine fitness tracker: ECG quality and arrhythmia detection

Woort¹,

Dubois

Tansley

et al. 2022

Equine Veterinary Journal

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Background: Cardiac arrhythmias in exercising horses are the focus of much interest, both in terms of what is considered normal and potential associations with poor performance and sudden cardiac death. One barrier to performing large-scale studies is the lack of an easily applicable device, to allow recording of large numbers of highquality exercising electrocardiograms (ECGs). The Equimetre TM is a new wearable device, which records a single lead ECG, among other parameters. Validation of such wearable devices is essential before further studies are undertaken. Objectives:To evaluate the quality of ECG using the Equimetre TM and compare arrhythmia detection during exercise with the reference Televet TM system. Study design:Prospective blinded clinical study.Methods: Simultaneous ECGs were recorded with both systems in 49 healthy horses during exercise. High-intensity exercise (>40 km/h) was performed by 29 racehorses, and lower-intensity exercise for the remainder of the racehorses and show jumpers.Tracings were excluded if >10% artefact was present (duration of artefact relative to duration of exercise). For included ECGs, the duration of artefact was recorded and compared. ECGs were evaluated using Kubios premium software. Arrhythmia detection (yes/no) and arrhythmia classification (sinus arrhythmia, narrow complex of similar morphology to the sinus complexes or wide complex with a different morphology) were compared using Cohen's Kappa coefficient.Results: Nine Televet TM ECGs and 3 Equimetre TM ECGs were excluded due to artefact >10%. Televet TM ECGs included significantly more artefact during exercise than Equimetre TM ECGs (5% vs. 0.25% P < .001). Arrhythmia analysis was performed on 38 horses' paired ECGs. The kappa coefficient was excellent for arrhythmia detection (K = 0.97) and arrhythmia classification (K = 0.93). Main limitations:Relatively low numbers of horses with arrhythmias (n = 21) were included. The ECG recordings only provided one lead, making arrhythmia classification challenging in some cases.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 89%

Validation of an equine fitness tracker: ECG quality and arrhythmia detection

Woort¹,

Dubois

Tansley

et al. 2022

Equine Veterinary Journal

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“…This is less than what has been previously reported in racing (92%) and show jumping (89%), but greater than what has been reported in dressage (26%). 4,10,11 During swimming, SVPDs were the most frequently observed arrhythmia (present in 6/16 horses), however, 56/77 (73%) of ECGs had no ectopic beats present. In horses with premature depolarisations, fewer than three SVPDs were reported per swimming length, all of which were singlets.…”

Section: Swimmingmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…Swimming has been used as a rehabilitation and conditioning tool for horses for many years. [1][2][3][4] The physiological demand associated with various equine swimming protocols has previously been reported. [5][6][7] Cardiac and respiratory parameters reported while swimming have included mean heart rate (HR), stroke volume, cardiac output, maximal aerobic capacity (VO 2 max) and laryngeal movements.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The clinical significance of cardiac arrhythmias in apparently healthy and sport performance horses remains unclear, despite studies examining their prevalence across various athletic disciplines including dressage, showjumping, chuckwagon races, eventing, endurance and flat racing. 4,[10][11][12][13][14][15] Whether swimming elicits a similar cardiovascular response as over-ground exercise remains unknown; questions linger about what impact, if any, aquatic adaptations may have on the occurrence, type and severity of cardiac arrhythmias in the horse.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Frequency of cardiac arrhythmias in horses during straight and untethered swimming

Santosuosso

David

Massie

et al. 2022

Equine Veterinary Journal

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BackgroundCardiac arrhythmias have not been previously reported in horses while swimming.ObjectivesTo describe the type and frequency of encountered arrhythmias during repetitive swimming cycles.Study designDescriptive observational study.MethodsSixteen horses swam five pool lengths (75 m), each separated by an active recovery walk. Continuous electrocardiograms (ECGs) were recorded (n = 80) and analysed during the pre‐swim, swim and active‐recovery periods. Arrhythmias were categorised as sinus arrhythmia (SA), sinus block, sinus pause (compensatory and non‐compensatory), second degree atrioventricular block (2AVB) for physiological arrhythmias, supraventricular premature depolarisation (SVPD) and ventricular premature depolarisation (VPD) for non‐physiological arrhythmias. A linear mixed‐effects model was used to examine the effects of repetitive swim lengths on arrhythmias and swimming parameters. Data were reported as median [interquartile range].ResultsFifteen horses (94%) experienced at least one arrhythmia; however, the frequency remained low and 2AVB were only observed during the pre‐swim period. The swimming heart rate (HR) was 162 bpm [141;173]. Sinus blocks, sinus pauses, SA, SVPD and VPD were all recorded at least once during swimming. Except for one VPD couplet, all premature depolarisations were isolated. During active‐recovery, the HR was 105 bpm [103;106], with SA observed in 13 horses (81%), isolated SVPD in six horses (38%), sinus pause in one horse (6%) but no VPD present.Main limitationsLimited number of horses precluding population prevalence assessment.Conclusion and clinical importanceHigh‐quality underwater ECGs were acquired in swimming horses for the first time. The frequency of arrhythmias remained low and rare pathological arrhythmias were observed during repetitive swimming and active‐recovery cycles. Swimming with active‐recovery periods is not a high‐risk cardio‐arrhythmic exercise.

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“…According to Slack et al, 2015, only 11.5 percent of Standardbreds developed arrhythmias. Another study in pre-race Thoroughbreds discovered arrhythmias in just 7.8% of the horses (Massie et al, 2021). A survey of arrhythmias in polo horses, on the other hand, had never been done previously.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Field screening of murmurs and arrhythmias in performance Argentine polo ponies

Issariyodom

Kidtiwong

Lampang

et al. 2021

VIS

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Polo is a high-intensity sport, and the horses who participate in it are known to receive a high workload on their hearts. Having cardiac disorders can impair their athletic performance or even increase the risk of collapsing during the game. In sport horses, murmurs and arrhythmias are commonly-found physiological conditions; nevertheless, many of them are related to heart diseases. Though numerous studies on murmurs and arrhythmias have been done among several kinds of horses, the information in polo horses is still limited. This study was done to investigate the prevalence of murmurs and arrhythmias in performance Argentine polo ponies by field screening with fast and convenient methods. A hundred and ninety-six performance Argentine polo ponies (162 mares and 34 geldings) with ages between 6 – 20 years old were included in this study. Cardiac auscultation with a simple stethoscope was done to detect and grade murmurs, and electrocardiography with an iPhone ECG (electrocardiogram) recorder was done at the same time to find if there were any arrhythmias. The results showed 98 ponies (50%) that probably had cardiac abnormalities, these could be divided into 61 ponies (31.1%) with only murmurs, 18 ponies (9.2%) with only arrhythmias, and 19 ponies (9.7%) with both murmurs and arrhythmias. In conclusion, murmurs and arrhythmias were found frequently by field screening of this study; cardiac examination should not be overlooked, and those ponies with murmurs and/or arrhythmias should be examined further to determine whether they were pathologic or not.

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Prevalence of cardiac arrhythmias and R-R interval variation in healthy Thoroughbred horses during official Chuckwagon races and recovery

Cited by 7 publications

References 23 publications

Validation of an equine fitness tracker: ECG quality and arrhythmia detection

Validation of an equine fitness tracker: ECG quality and arrhythmia detection

Frequency of cardiac arrhythmias in horses during straight and untethered swimming

Field screening of murmurs and arrhythmias in performance Argentine polo ponies

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