Assessment of systolic and diastolic function in clinically healthy horses using ambulatory acoustic cardiography.
Equine Vet J
; 51(3): 391-400, 2019 May.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-30171766
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
Assessment of cardiac electromechanical function in horses requires training, experience and specialised equipment and does not allow continuous monitoring over time.OBJECTIVES:
The objective of this study was to establish the use of an acoustic ECG monitor (Audicor® ) in healthy horses. It provides noninvasive, examiner-independent, continuous analyses combining ECG and phonocardiography to calculate indices of cardiac mechanical activity and haemodynamics. Device usability was investigated, reference intervals calculated and reproducibility of analyses assessed. STUDYDESIGN:
Prospective descriptive study.METHODS:
Continuous overnight recordings were obtained in 123 healthy horses. ECG and acoustic cardiography analyses were performed. Electromechanical activating time (EMAT), rate-corrected EMATc, left ventricular systolic time (LVST), rate-corrected LVSTc and intensity and persistence of the third and fourth heart sound (S3, S4) were reported. Associations with age and reproducibility of analyses were assessed.RESULTS:
Audicor® recordings of diagnostic quality were obtained in 116 horses, with an artefact-free recording time of 108-1403 h (mean 1021 h). 44.8% of the horses had atrial premature complexes (up to 0.18% of analysed beats), 4.3% had ventricular premature complexes (up to 0.021% of analysed beats). Reference intervals for acoustic cardiography variables were reported. S3 was significantly more often graded ≥5 (scale 0-10) in younger compared to older horses (P = 0.0036, R2 = 0.072). The between-day coefficient of variation ranged from 2.5 to 7.7% for EMAT, EMATc, LVST and LVSTc. MAINLIMITATIONS:
Audicor® algorithms are based on human databases. Horses were deemed clinically healthy without advanced diagnostics. Some data were lost because of technical difficulties, artefacts and noises.CONCLUSIONS:
Overnight Audicor® recordings are feasible in horses. Combining ambulatory ECG and phonocardiography allows noninvasive, continuous assessment of variables representing systolic and diastolic cardiac function. ECG rhythm analyses require over-reading by a specialist, but acoustic cardiography variables are based on automated algorithms independent of examiner input. Further studies are required to establish the clinical value of acoustic cardiography in horses.Palavras-chave
Texto completo:
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Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Fonocardiografia
/
Sístole
/
Monitorização Ambulatorial
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Diástole
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Eletrocardiografia
/
Cavalos
Idioma:
En
Ano de publicação:
2019
Tipo de documento:
Article