Cardiology

Horses can suffer from heart murmurs, dysrhythmias and other cardiac conditions. Abnormalities are often detected in equine athletes and in most cases, these are not an issue but in others they can lead to poor performance or more serious disease.

Investigations often include echocardiography and electrocardiograph (ECG) undertaken at rest and during exercise. For a variety of conditions, a 24-hour ECG is required, and this can be performed at the hospital under CCTV surveillance.

Atrial fibrillation is a dysrhythmia that can lead to poor performance. Modern treatment technique is to perform transvenous electro cardioversion (TVEC). TVEC can be performed at Sussex Equine Hospital in collaboration with a team from the University of Edinburgh.