Effect of exercise on systemic blood pressure and heart rate in horses.
Abstract: Carotid loops were prepared in 3 horses several months prior to the experiments. Systemic blood pressure was recorded at rest and during exercise by insertion of a plastic cannula into the carotid artery. The pressure transducer was fixed at the neck of the animal. The blood pressure signal was transmitted by telemetry. When the horses were standing under the rider, the following results were obtained: heart rate 38 +/- 5 beats-min-1, systolic pressure 115 +/- 15, disstolic pressure 83 +/- 10, mean pressure 97 +/- 12, and pulse pressure 32 +/- 9 mm Hg. During steady gallop at a mean speed of 548 +/- 90 m-min-1, heart rate rose to 184 +/- 23 beats-min-1, systolic pressure to 205 +/- 23, diastolic pressure to 116 +/- 12, mean pressure to 160 +/- 20 and pulse pressure to 89 +/- 19 mm Hg. These values remained stable throughout the exercise period of 5-6 min. When the horses were exercised at stepwise increasing speed from walk through trot to gallop, both the mean arterial blood pressure and the pulse pressure rose in proportion to the running speed.
Publication Date: 1977-11-25 PubMed ID: 563589DOI: 10.1007/BF00582212Google Scholar: Lookup
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Summary
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This study investigates the effects of exercise on the systemic blood pressure and heart rate in horses. The findings suggest that both the mean arterial blood pressure and the pulse pressure rise in proportion to the horse’s running speed.
Carotid loops
- The experiment started with preparing carotid loops in 3 horses months before the study commenced. This preparation would have involved surgery to expose and isolate the carotid artery.
- This setup facilitates the future insertion of a pressure transducer for recording blood pressure data.
Blood pressure recording
- For the experiment, systemic blood pressure was recorded both when the horses were at rest and when they were exercising.
- A plastic cannula was inserted into the prepared carotid artery to collect data.
- The pressure transducer that was attached to the cannula was fixed on the horse’s neck.
- The blood pressure readings were then transmitted through telemetry for real-time data collection.
Results and findings
- When the horses were under the rider, but without any movement involved, the heart rate was observed to be 38 beats per minute, with varying blood pressure measurements.
- When the horses were sent into a steady gallop, the heart rate rose sharply to an average of 184 beats per minute, while systolic, diastolic, and mean pressures also saw significant increases. The pulse pressure, or the difference between systolic and diastolic, rose considerably as well.
- These recorded values stayed consistent throughout the exercise period, giving the researchers a set timeframe of activity to observe.
- When the horses exercises with speeds gradually increasing from a walk to a trot, then to a gallop, both the mean arterial blood pressure and the pulse pressure correspondingly increased with the horses’ speed.
- The results demonstrate a direct relationship between exercise (particularly speed in this case) and systemic blood pressure and heart rate in horses.
Cite This Article
APA
Hörnicke H, von Engelhardt W, Ehrlein HJ.
(1977).
Effect of exercise on systemic blood pressure and heart rate in horses.
Pflugers Arch, 372(1), 95-99.
https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00582212 Publication
Researcher Affiliations
MeSH Terms
- Animals
- Blood Pressure
- Heart Rate
- Horses / physiology
- Physical Conditioning, Animal
- Physical Exertion
References
This article includes 16 references
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Citations
This article has been cited 3 times.- Lundblad J, Rashid M, Rhodin M, Haubro Andersen P. Effect of transportation and social isolation on facial expressions of healthy horses. PLoS One 2021;16(6):e0241532.
- Poulsen CB, Damkjær M, Hald BO, Wang T, Holstein-Rathlou NH, Jacobsen JC. Vascular flow reserve as a link between long-term blood pressure level and physical performance capacity in mammals. Physiol Rep 2016 Jun;4(11).
- Thomas DP, Fregin GF, Gerber NH, Ailes NB. Cardiorespiratory adjustments to tethered-swimming in the horse. Pflugers Arch 1980 May;385(1):65-70.
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