NEWS NOTES
Many Horses With Arrhythmias Return to Racing Exercise-associated rhythm disturbances are common in poorly performing Thoroughbreds, but their presence was not associated with return to racing, and a high proportion of horses raced again. This retrospective study done at the Rossdale Diagnostic Center in England examined exercising electrocardiogram recordings for 245 Thoroughbred racehorses presenting with poor performance and/ or respiratory noise at exercise. In total, 158 horses (64.5%) had abnormal rhythms; 110 (44.9%) of these had isolated premature depolarisations and 48 (19.6%) horses had complex tachydysrhythmias. Rhythm disturbances were most common during recovery from exercise (50% of horses).
Horses being exercised on a treadmill were 2.6 times more likely to have rhythm disturbances than those exercised over ground, and National Hunt racehorses were 2.7 times more likely to have complex arrhythmias than horses engaged in flat racing. Exercise-associated upper respiratory tract (URT) obstruction was associated with the presence of rhythm disturbances. Horses with URT obstruction at exercise were twice as likely to have a rhythm disturbance than those with normal airway function. Overall, 82% of horses raced again. There were no significant differences in the number of horses that returned to racing in the normal rhythm, isolated premature depolarisations or complex rhythm groups. MeV
For more information: Marr CM, Franklin S, Garrod G, et al. Exercise associated rhythm disturbances in poorly performing Thoroughbreds: Risk factors and association with racing performance. Equine Vet J. 2020 Sept. 26 [Epub ahead of print]. https://beva.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/evj.13354
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