Atrial fibrillation - to treat or not?

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Paintgal

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Anyone have experience with a horse with atrial fibrillation? My big lad has been diagnosed today - i either have to retire him (his heart rate goes too high on excercise for him to be safe to ride) or have him treated with quinidine. Am worried of the possible side effects - anyone been through this treatment with their horse?
 
I believe quinidine is what they use for people with AF too. How do they want to administer it? May make all the difference to any possible side effects. Have you googled it?
 
I believe it is administered through a tube down the nose. Did google it - that is where i read about the side effects. Know there are risks with any drug, but want to weigh all options before putting his heart at risk!
 
Hi , I personally have AF and have for 20 or so years now . I found that its related to food , like diabetics have sugar problems and there is sugar in everything and you need to be aware of how much or little you have each day . I never have found out what starts me off but my pulse sits at 300bpm and can last anything between 20mins to 2days , in bed , tired out as no oxygenated blood getting to muscles , or my heart just stammers then a beat then stammers. Its a real pain in the bottom but Im now not on any meds and fine to exercise , in moderation. So worth looking at your feed . Take it down to one item of feed at a time , keep a record and check heart rate and then add another feed . I would get a reaction within 30mins to a food. Time consuming but you can almost get back to a "normal " life . It took me ages and several years to convince my DR but he agrees with me now that mine is food orientated. Good Luck .
 
Why does he have AF? Is it idiopathic (i.e. no reason known), or due to an enlarged/damaged heart? If it is idiopathic then there is probably reasonable cause to treat, and hope for resolution over a decent length of time. If due to heart changes, then even if he is cardioverted with quinidine the likelihood is that he will go back to AF in short order.
 
Hi, my big boy (17.1hh) was diagnosed with AF back in November last year. It came as quite a shock as it was a routine heart check before sedation prior to clipping which raised alarm bells. He went to the vets the same afternoon and had an ECG which confirmed the vets expectations.
I was seriously gutted. Willy is my pride and joy, I'd done opening meet with him just 10 days earlier (he felt fine and full of himself as always)
My vet explained that quinidine was the drug they would use but that it could have fatal side effects, She said that the procedure was simple enough (stomach tube) but the drug itself was the problem. In thier experiance they found that on average they tended to loose between 10-15% of horses treated. And that not all horses that survived had a regulated heart beat.
I had a very difficult decision to make and lots of sleepless nights. I took his shoes off and he had some time off. Then the snow came, and then Christmas. Anyway come February I made the decision to give Willy a chance of his life again, he's only 11 so too young in my opinion to be retired. I felt I had to give him his chance.
He had to be starved the night before he went to the vets and then I took him down that morning, I said my goodbyes, crossed my fingers and sobbed all the way home. I then had to wait.
That afternoon I got the phonecall I'd been dreading from the vets. BUT she said that Willy had been far from co-operative whilst they were trying to tube him and had actually managed to climb and fight his way out of thier stocks. She said they could only proceed if they sedated him to get the tube in but this would increase the risks further :-( Another difficult decision. Anyway what was ment to be will be so I gave them the go ahead. They were going to try again the next day.
I chewed at my finger nails all day and figured no news was good news but rang them at 5 o'clock. By then he'd had 2 of the 3 treatments he was allowed to have and his heart hadn't regulated, and she wasnt very hopeful it would regulate after the third dose either. Appartently if the heart is going to regualte with quinidine then it usually does so on the 1st or sometimes 2nd dose rather than the third. She was going to give Willy his final dose at 9pm. I had another sleepless night and went to the vets for them opening the next day. I was so releived he was still alive! He had a Do Not Disturb sign on his door :-) I was extatic when I was told his heart had regulated :-) Soo soo happy!
Willy came home that day and had to stay in for a week. He was an extemely tired boy and had a sore throat, he didnt kick the door, scrape the floor or anything. He had to be turned out on his own for four weeks, and could be ridden 6 weeks after the procedure.
He has made a full recovery now, the vets check his heart regularly when they are on the yard as there is a chance he could revert back to AF :-( but so far so good :-)
We were lucky :-) of the next two horses my vets treated for AF one didn't regulate and the other died :-(

Well done if you got this far but I kinda wanted to explan all I went through.
Its a very tough decision to make but you are the only person who can make that decision.

All the best of luck form Willy n me with whatever you decide
 
I lost my horse just over a year ago to heart failure brought about by A-Fib. I chose not to have him treated, it's high risk, highly unpleasant and with a low success rate and my horse was 17 so no spring chicken.

He died six months after being diagnosed on the first hot week of spring, I think his heart just could not cope with the heat.
 
Was that what Denman had a couple of seasons back? As far as I remember he had the treatment.
 
Hi i'm new to this site and sorry if i'm butting in. you haven't said what age your big boy is - i have seen several horses treated with quinidine and all have converted some on the third attempt - not sure where you are based but John Keene at Edinburgh (Dick) Veterinary centre is very good and really knows what he is doing - i'm based in scotland so i'm not sure about the referral centres in England. When the horse undergoes quinidine treatment for AF - they are very closely monitored with ECG monitors on them and even though the side effects can be serious/fatal they are usually very very closely monitored to prevent any problems before they become life threatening. I think if i had a horse with AF and there was no underlying cardiac damage, he was young and strong enough i would play the risks and have it done but i know how worrying the side effects are and as i say although i have seen it done many times with no loss of horse, i know how frightening it can be to make the decision.

I suppose my advice would be to work out what is best for you and your boy and go from there. All the best for you both - let us know how you get on
 
We've got an 18hh WB who was treated with quinidine last year but sadly reverted after about 8 weeks. Since then he's been a pet as he's not safe to sit on, and has recently been having quite bad nosebleeds which they think is connected. She's not really sure what to do with him now. He seems quite happy but we all worry he's going to drop dead the next time we have an ultra hot day. Its a shame the treatment didn't work in this case but I know the owner is very glad she did it and gave him the only chance he had of getting better. Good luck with yours.
 
Thanks for all your comments and kind words. It is reassuring to hear your experiences. The good news is the ultrasound of his heart showed no disease. He is only 12 years old, and we know its a recent thing as ive only had him three months and he passed vetting with flying colours.

I have more or less decided to have him treated as he enjoys his work and hes still quite young. I lost my last horse to a fractured leg last year so thats not been aiding my decision. Ill let you know what i decide and how we get on.
 
Cant add a lot to the previous comments on quinidine, seen it successfully used regularly but there are indeed many serious side effects.

Just thought I would add that there is another way of converting horses in AF which involves an anaesthetic and a direct 'shock' to the heart to place it back into the correct rhythm. It is only performed in Newmarket as far as I am aware and certainly would be a more expensive option but is proving very successful. I am not saying it is better or safer as obviously involves an anaesthetic but thought you should be aware of all the options, maybe ask your vet about it?
 
Hi All
Am new to this and do not wish to stad on any toes! I had a Welsh D whos heart rate went stupidly high several years ago. At the time my vet had 'no idea' as to why and therefore a treatment. Reading all your posts I think it was AF. His illness lasted about 2months over the summer and I kept him comfortable by keeping him wet...I literally put the hose on him for 10mins every hour or so from when the sun was warm to when it cooled in the evening. I left him to drip dry, mane, tail and all. He lived many years after his bout and resumed work. Hope that gives you some comfort :)
 
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