Pericardial Disease, Myocardial Disease, and Great Vessel Abnormalities in Horses.

The research article presents an investigation into the causes, diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment of diseases affecting the pericardium, myocardium, and great vessel abnormalities in horses, which are quite rare but often come with nonspecific signs or symptoms depending on the root cause.

Overview of Conditions Studied

• The article investigates diseases of the pericardium (the protective sac around the heart), the myocardium (the heart muscle itself), and abnormalities in the ‘great vessels’, or the major blood vessels that carry blood to and from the heart.
• These conditions are relatively rare in horses, and the clinical symptoms are often vague or non-specific. In many cases, the symptoms are more likely related to the underlying cause of the disease rather than the disease itself.

Clinical Signs and Symptoms

• Physical examinations of afflicted horses usually unveil symptoms such as a fast heart rate (tachycardia), fever, swollen veins or noticeable jugular pulsation, a weak or bounding arterial pulse, fluid retention in the lower body (ventral edema), and abnormal sounds heard during a heart examination (cardiac auscultation), such as an irregular heartbeat (arrhythmia), a heart murmur, or muted heart sounds.

Prognosis and Survival

• The progression and prognosis of these diseases can vary significantly, with outcomes ranging from complete recovery to poor chances of survival.
• The prognosis largely depends on the underlying cause of the disease and how far it has progressed.

Covered Diseases

• The article specifically provides information on pericarditis (inflammation of the pericardium), myocarditis (inflammation of the myocardium), cardiomyopathy (disease of the heart muscle that makes it harder for the heart to pump blood), and great vessel aneurysm or rupture (an enlarged or burst blood vessel).
• For each of these conditions, the article explains their cause (etiology), how to identify them (diagnosis), their probable outcome (prognosis), and how to treat them.