Electrocardiograms from different types of exercise in Eventing horses with and without cardiac signs.
Abstract: Exercising arrhythmias can be clinically irrelevant or associated with poor performance, collapse and sudden cardiac death. Objective: To test if readable exercising ECGs can be recorded by grooms or riders and to describe arrhythmias in ECGs from different types of exercise in Eventing horses and investigate associations with type of workout, the presence of previous cardiac signs and intensity of exercise. Methods: Cohort study. Methods: Single lead exercising ECGs were obtained by riders or grooms during training and competition from a convenience sample of horses in training for Eventing competitions. Arrhythmias were described, and associations between different arrhythmia categories and variables that described the horse and the workouts were sought. Results: There were 1002 ECGs from 62 horses (median [range] 7 [2-97] ECGs/horse) evaluated and 737 workouts (73.6%) were >95% readable and included in the analysis. There were arrhythmias in 250 (33.9%) of the workouts, complex arrhythmias in 13 (1.8%) and the number of premature complexes was median (range) 0 (0-118). Peak heart rate and duration of exercise were associated with the number of premature complexes, the presence of arrhythmias and complex arrhythmias and were colinear with the type of exercise. Having previous signs of cardiac disease and the type of workout were associated with higher odds of having arrhythmias. Conclusions: Monitoring the rhythm of equine athletes with ECGs obtained by riders and transmitted to an online cloud was feasible. Arrhythmias were frequent, and complex arrhythmias were rare. The presence of cardiac signs, type of exercise and peak heart rate were associated with the presence of arrhythmias. None of the horses developed poor performance or collapse attributed to cardiac disease. The arrhythmias that should be concerning for equine veterinarians need further definition.
© 2024 The Author(s). Equine Veterinary Journal published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of EVJ Ltd.
Publication Date: 2024-12-04 PubMed ID: 39632364PubMed Central: PMC12135740DOI: 10.1111/evj.14449Google Scholar: Lookup
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- Journal Article
Summary
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This research explores how electrocardiograms (ECGs) can monitor the heart rhythm of eventing horses during exercise, and how certain factors like previous heart issues, intensity, and type of physical activity could affect the chance of developing arrhythmias. It found that while arrhythmias were common, they did not necessarily lead to poor performance or collapse.
Objective and Study Design
- The goal of this study was to see if grooms or riders could use ECGs to monitor the heart rhythms of eventing horses during exercise and to identify any abnormalities or arrhythmias that may occur.
- The researchers designed a cohort study in which single-lead ECGs were used to record and analyze the horses’ heart rates during both training and competition periods.
Methods and Data Collection
- The researchers used a convenience sample of horses that were in training for Eventing competitions. Each horse had ECGs recorded during workouts by their riders or grooms. The ECGs were then transmitted to an online cloud for analysis.
- Out of the 1002 ECGs that were collected from 62 horses, 737 were more than 95% readable and thus included in the study.
- The researchers described the types of arrhythmias detected and looked for associations between arrhythmia categories and variables such as the type of workout, the presence of previous cardiac signs, and intensity of exercise.
Results
- The analysis revealed arrhythmias in 33.9% of the workouts. Complex arrhythmias, which are more serious, were found in 1.8% of the workouts.
- Two factors were strongly associated with the number of premature complexes (early heartbeats), type of workout, and presence of arrhythmias: peak heart rate and duration of exercise.
- Having previous signs of cardiac disease and the type of workout were associated with higher odds of having arrhythmias. However, none of the horses showed poor performance or collapse due to cardiac disease.
Conclusions
- The study concluded that it is possible to monitor the heart rhythms of equine athletes using ECGs recorded by riders or grooms. The data also confirmed that arrhythmias were often present during exercise, though they didn’t cause severe symptoms or performance issues.
- While the type of exercise, presence of previous heart issues, and peak heart rate were associated with the occurrence of arrhythmias, the researchers noted that more work is needed to define the types of arrhythmias that should be a concern for equine veterinarians.
Cite This Article
APA
Navas de Solis C, Solomon C, Durando M, Stefanovski D.
(2024).
Electrocardiograms from different types of exercise in Eventing horses with and without cardiac signs.
Equine Vet J, 57(4), 991-1000.
https://doi.org/10.1111/evj.14449 Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- Large Animal Clinical Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
- Large Animal Clinical Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
- Equine Sports Medicine Consultants, Newark, Delaware, USA.
- Large Animal Clinical Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
MeSH Terms
- Animals
- Horses
- Physical Conditioning, Animal / physiology
- Electrocardiography / veterinary
- Horse Diseases / diagnosis
- Arrhythmias, Cardiac / veterinary
- Arrhythmias, Cardiac / diagnosis
- Male
- Female
- Cohort Studies
Grant Funding
- Thomas B. McCabe and Jeannette E. Laws McCabe Fund
Conflict of Interest Statement
The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
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