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The Veterinary record2020; 187(9); e70; doi: 10.1136/vr.105759

Comparison between smartphone electrocardiography and standard three-lead base apex electrocardiography in healthy horses.

Abstract: Cardiac arrhythmias are commonly auscultated during routine physical examinations in horses and determining the underlying electrical abnormality using an ECG is important. The most commonly used device is a three-lead base apex system (Televet), however few practitioners carry this for routine visits. With recognition of the utility of smartphone-based ECGs in humans, dogs and ruminants, the AliveCor single-lead bipolar smartphone-based ECG has gained popularity. The objective of this study was to determine if AliveCor and Televet ECG measurements were comparable in healthy horses using multiple observers. ECGs were performed on 15 healthy horses simultaneously using the AliveCor and Televet. There was very good to perfect interdevice and interobserver agreement for heart rate and RR interval measurement, and moderate-to-good interdevice and interobserver agreement for detection of non-pathological arrhythmias. Interdevice agreement for measurement of P-wave and QRS duration, QT, PR and T-peak to T-end interval was poor to fair. Interestingly, interobserver agreement for P-wave and QRS duration, QT, PR, and T-peak to T-end interval measurements was fair to good. Overall, the AliveCor is comparable to the Televet for heart rate and RR measurement, and for the detection of non-pathogenic arrhythmias with acceptable agreement between observers.
© British Veterinary Association 2020. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.
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Publication Date: 2020-05-15 PubMed ID: 32414909PubMed Central: PMC7606555DOI: 10.1136/vr.105759Google Scholar: Lookup
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  • Comparative Study
  • Journal Article

Summary

This research summary has been generated with artificial intelligence and may contain errors and omissions. Refer to the original study to confirm details provided. Submit correction.

The research evaluated whether smartphone-based ECGs (AliveCor) could be as effective as the traditional three-lead base apex system (Televet) in detecting heart abnormalities in horses. The findings confirmed that the AliveCor is comparably effective in heart rate and rhythm measurement, and in identifying non-diseased arrhythmias.

Objective and Methods

  • The main objective of this study was to assess and compare the usefulness and efficiency of the Alivecor (a single-lead bipolar smartphone-based ECG) and the traditional three-lead base apex system (Televet) used for ECG measurements in healthy horses.
  • The researchers performed ECGs on 15 healthy horses simultaneously using both the AliveCor and the Televet.

Key Findings

  • Both inter-device and inter-observer agreement of heart rate and RR interval measurement were found to be very good to perfect.
  • There was moderate to good agreement between the two devices and also amongst observers when detecting non-pathological arrhythmias in healthy horses.
  • However, there was a poor to fair agreement for both inter-device and inter-observer comparisons when looking at measurements of P-wave and QRS duration, QT, PR and T-peak to T-end interval.
  • Interestingly, the inter-observer agreement was slightly better, fair to good for these specific parameters.

Conclusion

  • On the whole, the study demonstrated that the AliveCor device provides comparable efficiency to the Televet in measuring heart rate and RR interval and in detecting non-pathogenic arrhythmias in horses.
  • The lower agreement in measuring certain parameters like P-wave and QRS duration, QT, PR and T-peak to T-end interval suggests a limitation that AliveCor needs to improve on in order to be effectively used for practical veterinary purposes.

Cite This Article

APA
Welch-Huston B, Durward-Akhurst S, Norton E, Ellingson L, Rendahl A, McCue M. (2020). Comparison between smartphone electrocardiography and standard three-lead base apex electrocardiography in healthy horses. Vet Rec, 187(9), e70. https://doi.org/10.1136/vr.105759

Publication

The Veterinary record
ISSN: 2042-7670
NlmUniqueID: 0031164
Country: England
Language: English
Volume: 187
Issue: 9
Pages: e70

Researcher Affiliations

Welch-Huston, Brittany
  • Veterinary Population Medicine, The University of Minnesota, St. Paul, Minnesota, USA.
Durward-Akhurst, Sian
  • Veterinary Population Medicine, The University of Minnesota, St. Paul, Minnesota, USA durwa004@umn.edu.
Norton, Elaine
  • Veterinary Population Medicine, The University of Minnesota, St. Paul, Minnesota, USA.
Ellingson, Lacey
  • College of Veterinary Medicine, The University of Minnesota, St. Paul, Minnesota, USA.
Rendahl, Aaron
  • College of Veterinary Medicine, The University of Minnesota, St. Paul, Minnesota, USA.
McCue, Molly
  • Veterinary Population Medicine, The University of Minnesota, St. Paul, Minnesota, USA.

MeSH Terms

  • Animals
  • Arrhythmias, Cardiac / diagnosis
  • Arrhythmias, Cardiac / veterinary
  • Electrocardiography / instrumentation
  • Electrocardiography / veterinary
  • Female
  • Heart Rate
  • Horse Diseases / diagnosis
  • Horses
  • Reference Values
  • Smartphone

Grant Funding

  • T32 OD010993 / NIH HHS

Conflict of Interest Statement

Competing interests: None declared.

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Citations

This article has been cited 3 times.
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