Cardiopathology of sudden cardiac death in the race horse.
Abstract: Twenty thoroughbred race horses were selected for postmortem cardiopathological study of sudden cardiac death; ten of the twenty horses died suddenly. In order to define accurately the morphological changes observed in these ten hearts, ten other thoroughbred race horses considered to have normal hearts were selected as a control group and studied by postmortem coronary angiography. Of the ten horses that died suddenly, eight were witnessed to have died either during or shortly after training or racing. The death was instantaneous except in one horse, which showed ventricular tachycardia and died 4.5 h after a race. The other two died unexpectedly in the stable at night. Pathologically, the horses that died suddenly generally showed multifocal myocardial lesions that were ischemic and fibrotic. These lesions were found in the atrial tissue close to the sinoatrial (SA) node and in the atrioventricular (AV) junction, including the upper portion of the interventricular septum. Such myocardial lesions were often associated with vascular changes including arterio- and/or arteriolosclerosis. Angiographically, the SA node appeared to be perfused by atrial branches of the left and right coronary arteries. One branch originating from the left coronary artery gave off a few branches into the AV junction. These pathological findings, mainly consisting of both atrial lesions and lesions in the AV junction, were similar to those observed in horses with either atrial fibrillation, SA block, or paroxysmal ventricular tachycardia. A finding of particular interest was the angiographic demonstration that the blood supply to the AV junction partly came from the SA node artery.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Publication Date: 1987-01-01 PubMed ID: 3449504
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- Journal Article
Summary
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The research paper studies the sudden cardiac death in race horses by conducting a postmortem cardiopathological study on twenty thoroughbred race horses, of which ten had sudden deaths.
Methodology
- The research undertook a postmortem study of twenty thoroughbred race horses. Out of these, ten horses had died suddenly and were the primary subjects of the study.
- To ascertain the morphological changes in the hearts of the suddenly deceased horses, a control group was selected which comprised ten other thoroughbred race horses perceived to have normal hearts.
- Postmortem coronary angiography was employed to study and compare the two sets of horses.
Findings
- Of the ten horses that had sudden deaths, eight died either during or soon after running a race. Only one horse displayed ventricular tachycardia before dying 4.5 hours after race completion. Two unexpected deaths occurred in the stable overnight.
- On examination, the suddenly deceased horses exhibited multifocal myocardial lesions that were ischemic, indicating a restriction in blood supply, and fibrotic, wherein fibrous connective tissue replaces dead cells, particularly around the sinoatrial (SA) node and in the atrioventricular (AV) junction.
- These myocardial lesions were frequently linked to vascular alterations including arteriosclerosis (hardening of the arteries) and arteriolosclerosis (thickening or weakening of the small arteries).
- Through angiography, it was noticed that the SA node received blood supply from atrial branches of the left and right coronary arteries. A branch starting from the left coronary artery also supplied a few branches into the AV junction.
- The nature of these lesions, primarily in the atrial and AV junctional areas, were observed to be similar to those found in horses with atrial fibrillation, SA block, or paroxysmal ventricular tachycardia.
Important Observations
- It was interesting to note via the angiographic demonstration that the AV junction’s blood supply partially derived from the SA node artery. This was a significant finding that can attribute to the better understanding of these cardiac conditions in horses.
Cite This Article
APA
Kiryu K, Nakamura T, Kaneko M, Oikawa M, Yoshihara T.
(1987).
Cardiopathology of sudden cardiac death in the race horse.
Heart Vessels Suppl, 2, 40-46.
Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- Department of Veterinary Pathology, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, Japan.
MeSH Terms
- Animals
- Coronary Disease / pathology
- Coronary Disease / veterinary
- Death, Sudden / pathology
- Death, Sudden / veterinary
- Female
- Horse Diseases / pathology
- Horses
- Male
- Myocardium / pathology
Citations
This article has been cited 5 times.- Gómez-Torres F, Ballesteros-Acuña L, Ruíz-Sauri A. Histological and morphometric changes in cardiac conduction fibers after spontaneous myocardial infarction in horses and dogs. Vet World 2025 Apr;18(4):827-836.
- Gómez-Torres F, Ballesteros-Acuña L, Ruíz-Sauri A. Histopathological changes in the electrical conduction of cardiac nodes after acute myocardial infarction in dogs and horses, compared with findings in humans: A histological, morphometrical, and immunohistochemical study. Vet World 2023 Oct;16(10):2173-2185.
- Nath L, Stent A, Elliott A, La Gerche A, Franklin S. Risk Factors for Exercise-Associated Sudden Cardiac Death in Thoroughbred Racehorses. Animals (Basel) 2022 May 18;12(10).
- Hellings IR, Skjerve E, Karlstam E, Valheim M, Ihler CF, Fintl C. Racing-associated fatalities in Norwegian and Swedish harness racehorses: Incidence rates, risk factors, and principal postmortem findings. J Vet Intern Med 2022 Mar;36(2):778-786.
- Goto Asakawa M, Mehmood W, Ali M, Oikawa MA. Idiopathic multifocal myocardial atrophy with fibrosis and fatty infiltration involving Purkinje fibres in a 13-year-old Arabian broodmare: Histopathological features. Vet Med Sci 2021 Jan;7(1):3-8.
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