Implantation of a permanent transvenous pacing catheter in a horse with complete heart block and syncope.
Abstract: A permanent, transvenous, atrioventricular, sequential pacing system was implanted successfully in a 7-year-old Quarter Horse gelding with complete heart block. The transvenous atrial and ventricular electrodes were placed in their respective positions in the heart, using real-time, 2-dimensional echocardiography. The horse was able to return successfully to competition as a show horse.
Publication Date: 1986-08-15 PubMed ID: 3759616
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- Case Reports
- Journal Article
- Research Support
- Non-U.S. Gov't
Summary
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The researchers were able to successfully implant a permanent pacing system in a horse with a severe heart condition. This allowed the horse to return to its regular activities.
Objective of the Study
The objective of the study was to establish the feasibility of implanting a permanent, transvenous, atrioventricular, sequential pacing system in a horse with complete heart block. The researchers aimed to test if this method could help restore the horse’s normal heart function, allowing it to resume its competitive career.
Study Methodology
- The study used a 7-year-old Quarter Horse gelding that was suffering from a complete heart block, a severe condition where the electrical signal is entirely blocked from reaching the heart’s lower chambers (the ventricles).
- The researchers performed surgery on the horse to implant a transvenous atrial and ventricular electrodes. This was a delicate process that required the use of real-time, two-dimensional echocardiography. Echocardiography is a type of ultrasound that uses sound waves to create detailed pictures of the heart, allowing the surgical team to accurately place the electrodes in their respective positions in the heart.
Results of the Study
- After the successful surgery, the permanent pacing system started sending electrical signals to stimulate the horse’s heart, effectively bypassing the blockage and imitating the normal pulsing of the heart.
- The researchers saw an improvement in the horse’s condition as its heart could now beat effectively and pump blood throughout its body.
- Following recovery from the surgery, the horse was able to return to its competitive activities as a show horse. This successful return to activity suggests that not only did the pacing system effectively fix the heart block but it didn’t impact the horse’s performance or quality of life.
Implications of the Study
- This successful experiment sets a precedent in veterinary medicine – it shows that it is indeed possible to treat complete heart block in horses through an implantable pacemaker system.
- It opens the field to further studies on how permanent pacing systems can be applied to other large animals with similar heart problems, possibly improving their lifespans and quality of life.
Cite This Article
APA
Reef VB, Clark ES, Oliver JA, Donawick WJ.
(1986).
Implantation of a permanent transvenous pacing catheter in a horse with complete heart block and syncope.
J Am Vet Med Assoc, 189(4), 449-452.
Publication
Researcher Affiliations
MeSH Terms
- Animals
- Cardiac Catheterization / veterinary
- Electrocardiography / veterinary
- Heart Block / therapy
- Heart Block / veterinary
- Horse Diseases / therapy
- Horses
- Male
- Pacemaker, Artificial / veterinary
- Syncope / veterinary
Citations
This article has been cited 5 times.- Nissen SD, Saljic A, Kjeldsen ST, Jespersen T, Hopster-Iversen C, Buhl R. Cartilaginous Intrusion of the Atrioventricular Node in a Quarter Horse with a High Burden of Second-Degree AV Block and Collapse: A Case Report. Animals (Basel) 2022 Oct 24;12(21).
- De Lange L, Van Steenkiste G, Vernemmen I, Vera L, Cromheeke KMC, Walser U, Meert H, Decloedt A, van Loon G. Successful application of closed loop stimulation pacemakers with remote monitoring in 3 miniature donkeys with syncope. J Vet Intern Med 2021 Nov;35(6):2920-2925.
- Sedlinská M, Kabeš R, Novák M, Kološ F, Melková P. Single-Chamber Cardiac Pacemaker Implantation in a Donkey with Complete AV Block: A Long-Term Follow-Up. Animals (Basel) 2021 Mar 9;11(3).
- Luethy D, Slack J, Kraus MS, Gelzer AR, Habecker P, Johnson AL. Third-Degree Atrioventricular Block and Collapse Associated with Eosinophilic Myocarditis in a Horse. J Vet Intern Med 2017 May;31(3):884-889.
- Avison A, Gelzer AR, Reef VB, Wulster Bills KB, de Solis CN, Kraus MS, Slack J, Stefanovski D, Deacon LJ, Underwood C. Twenty-four hour continuous transvenous temporary right ventricular pacing in healthy horses. J Vet Intern Med 2024 May-Jun;38(3):1751-1764.
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