experiences of continuedhigh heart rate 80bpm at rest for 7 days

[twiggy2]

does anyone have any experience, vet has been out every day, has done an ecg and run bloods but no answers from those, horse is eating but appetite is variable, has been colicky after periods of eating better, yesterday was the first day since monday that there were no face sweats after eating, still paws the ground after eating but not rolling or laying down groaning anymore, heart rate dropped to 70bpm yesterday and gut sounds were normal but bpm up to 80 again today and gut sounds were a bit washing machine like-she had eaten better this morning.

have had 9 vet visits this week and all ecg readings and bloods have been seen by a cardiologist-we are still a bit confused, we were expecting the bpm to continue going down not jump back up. vet was thinking gastric virus but now todays bpm has rocked that boat.

anyone had good experiences of this type of thing?

 

[Birker2020]

does anyone have any experience, vet has been out every day, has done an ecg and run bloods but no answers from those, horse is eating but appetite is variable, has been colicky after periods of eating better, yesterday was the first day since monday that there were no face sweats after eating, still paws the ground after eating but not rolling or laying down groaning anymore, heart rate dropped to 70bpm yesterday and gut sounds were normal but bpm up to 80 again today and gut sounds were a bit washing machine like-she had eaten better this morning.

have had 9 vet visits this week and all ecg readings and bloods have been seen by a cardiologist-we are still a bit confused, we were expecting the bpm to continue going down not jump back up. vet was thinking gastric virus but now todays bpm has rocked that boat.

anyone had good experiences of this type of thing?

Continuous elevated heart rate in an adult horse can be caused by pain from colic or other stomach disorders.

From wikipedia -Heart rate may also increase when the horse is excited, overheated or suffering severe dehydration, has a fever, has an infection or septicemia, has experienced a great deal of blood loss, has advanced heart or lung disease, or is in shock. In these cases, the resting heart rate may be above 80 in an adult animal

 

[sarahann1]

Poor horse

Could be so many things, have they ruled out grass sickness etc?

 

[twiggy2]

Poor horse

Could be so many things, have they ruled out grass sickness etc?

yes ruled out-bloods all clear and no other symptoms being shown, when offered tasty food no problem chewing and swallowing, it was one of the first things we discussed

 

[twiggy2]

Continuous elevated heart rate in an adult horse can be caused by pain from colic or other stomach disorders.

From wikipedia -Heart rate may also increase when the horse is excited, overheated or suffering severe dehydration, has a fever, has an infection or septicemia, has experienced a great deal of blood loss, has advanced heart or lung disease, or is in shock. In these cases, the resting heart rate may be above 80 in an adult animal

she has been on finadyne since monday (anti spasmodic pain killer that also protects the body from toxins) also been on antibiotics since monday, all bloods have come back clear,
non of the information is relevant from wikipedia as the symptoms don't exist or the causes have been ruled out.

 

[Birker2020]

she has been on finadyne since monday (anti spasmodic pain killer that also protects the body from toxins) also been on antibiotics since monday, all bloods have come back clear,
non of the information is relevant from wikipedia as the symptoms don't exist or the causes have been ruled out.

Oh sorry only trying to help.

 

[sarahann1]

yes ruled out-bloods all clear and no other symptoms being shown, when offered tasty food no problem chewing and swallowing, it was one of the first things we discussed

Hmm, this is prob very obvious and I'm sure it'll have been checked, but have tape worms etc been ruled out? I only ask because I've seen similar symptoms in a horse, vets did numerous and very expensive tests, only for it to turn out to be very high tape worm burden.

 

[twiggy2]

Oh sorry only trying to help.

I was not trying to be off, just rather than list each individual one it was easier to say they either don't apply in her case or have been ruled out.

I appreciate the ideas as we are at a loss

 

[Silverfire]

Are dropping normal and normal amount? Has horse had rectal exam?

 

[Birker2020]

I was not trying to be off, just rather than list each individual one it was easier to say they either don't apply in her case or have been ruled out.

I appreciate the ideas as we are at a loss

I hope you get it sorted out. How worrying for you. x

 

[Silverfire]

And has his mouth been checked? (in case its bad toothache, thinking of painful things and horses can suffer bad toothache) Is he colicky just after feed or hay too?

 

[twiggy2]

Hmm, this is prob very obvious and I'm sure it'll have been checked, but have tape worms etc been ruled out? I only ask because I've seen similar symptoms in a horse, vets did numerous and very expensive tests, only for it to turn out to be very high tape worm burden.

OK will discuss that with the vet, we have not tested for them, we have owned the horse for 3 years and the yard have a strict worming programme that she has been on for that time, wormed with equest pramox last time and double dose strongid p before that when tape worms were wormed for, so seems unlikely but worth ruling out

 

[twiggy2]

Are dropping normal and normal amount? Has horse had rectal exam?

droppings are normal, amount varies but in line with volume of food consumed-no rectal as guts normal sounding most of the time and the colicky symptoms seem to be getting less painful.

 

[twiggy2]

And has his mouth been checked? (in case its bad toothache, thinking of painful things and horses can suffer bad toothache) Is he colicky just after feed or hay too?

mouth is fine dentist saw her 3 weeks ago so 2 weeks before symptoms so it was one of the first things checked in case the had been a disturbance of something in her mouth, when she eats she has no problem chewing and swallowing, colicky after hay and feed-she only has high fibre cubes and we are soaking those currently and ad lib hay

 

[Silverfire]

My horse has a partial obstruction in her large intestine its a thickened piece of intestine with small impaction before it. Her gut sounds are always normal. Bloods are too. They need to do a rectal exam as if heart is normal then it could be a gut problem especially if heart rate is high on finadine. Mine also has teeth problems. some of the eating patterns you mentioned sound similar to how mine was at times in the past. She didn't have high heart rate though.

 

[twiggy2]

My horse has a partial obstruction in her large intestine its a thickened piece of intestine with small impaction before it. Her gut sounds are always normal. Bloods are too. They need to do a rectal exam as if heart is normal then it could be a gut problem especially if heart rate is high on finadine. Mine also has teeth problems. some of the eating patterns you mentioned sound similar to how mine was at times in the past. She didn't have high heart rate though.

will discuss rectal exam with vet, I just am starting to feel we are clutching at straws

 

[zigzag]

Ask for an abdominal tap, a horse was displaying similar signs to yours, bloods shoed nothing, but horse was bleeding internally, suggesting lymphoma in intestines

 

[twiggy2]

Ask for an abdominal tap, a horse was displaying similar signs to yours, bloods shoed nothing, but horse was bleeding internally, suggesting lymphoma in intestines

that's interesting was the heart rate high too?

 

[zigzag]

His heart rate was between 80 and 90 went down to around 70 with painkillers, then back up once painkillers wore off

 

[twiggy2]

His heart rate was between 80 and 90 went down to around 70 with painkillers, then back up once painkillers wore off

hers drops if she does not eat but obviously that is far from ideal

 

[Polonaise]

hers drops if she does not eat but obviously that is far from ideal

This is interesting, saw a pony once that looked to be in pain and high heart rate closely related to eating. It also had a raised temperature and very raised liver enzymes so we assumed it had liver pain and the full stomach was pressing on it. It did well in the end so happy ending.
I realise your ponies bloods were ok but worth thinking about which structures might be effected by eating/passage of food.

 

[twiggy2]

well no colic symptoms for 48hrs but heart rate still at 80, gut sounds still good, she has eaten enough to do 4 poos overnight (she would usually only do 6 at most), has drunk well (it is warmer), temp still around 38 but vet feels the heart rate could be causing this.

vet spoke to Rossdales specialist again and they have advised try a steriod based anti inflammatory (we are aware of the lami risk) as it 'should' be more effective, if no improvement then full referral, to a lady who comes and does the whole lot at your yard-my vet is not keen to travel her and neither am I.

So fingers crossed.

discussed options with the vet but as we have not had any signs of pain or colic for at least 48hrs neither he or Rossdales feel the heart rate is pain related but is most likely the result of a virus.

 

[2horsesnomoney]

Ok so you have ruled out quite a lot, also on my list to look for would be -
Gastric ulcers - gastroscope
Peritonitis - abdo tap and scan
Irritable bowl disease - has the horse lost a lot of weight?? try steroids high dose this normally helps IBD
Good luck

 

[twiggy2]

Ok so you have ruled out quite a lot, also on my list to look for would be -
Gastric ulcers - gastroscope
Peritonitis - abdo tap and scan
Irritable bowl disease - has the horse lost a lot of weight?? try steroids high dose this normally helps IBD
Good luck

apart from the colicky periods in the last 5-6 days the horse shows no symptoms of ulcers-lives out at night ad lib hay and in during day ad lib hay, not girthy/grumpy/touchy/reactive to any areas associated with ulcers-we discussed them this morning (a friend suggested them)-there has been a virus going the rounds on the yard but she is the first to react with increased heart rate, all the other did show colic symptoms-she is showing no signs at all of gut pain or sensitivity now, has shiny coat and looks well.

IBS the mare never scours (even with the colics) weight is never an issue with this mare either so again unlikely but not ruled out.

peritonitis-needs to be discussed if new meds don't work but I would expect a higher temperature. would it not show up on the bloods either?

obviously if the change in meds doesn't work then the above will be on the list to discuss with vet tomorrow as they will need ruling out.

thanx for good luck-I am so hoping these meds work and she is on her way back to normal tomorrow

 

[Silverfire]

Good news about no more colic symptoms.
If peritonitis is localised then no it won't show in bloods. My horse had what the vet thought was probably a localised peritonitis last July - colic and temp but normal bloods.

 

[Britestar]

I knew of a horse that intially presented as it pulled itself up on an XC course. Very unusual for that horse. When vet checked his heart rate was very high. he was taken to a Vet School nearby and continued to have alarmingly high rates. In himself he appeared quite normal.
They tried everything to reduced his heart rate, all sorts of drugs and loads of tests. His ecg and heart scans were seen by a specialist and it was discovered that he had a small tear between the two sides of his heart, and because of the blood flow/ pressure, it was never going to heal.
He was sent home, to be a paddock ornament, and the owner was told that one day his heart was just rupture. No idea how long he would last. If I remember correctly he lived quite a long time, happy playing in the fields, and one day, after turnout he galloped down the field, fell and was gone.

Not the best offering, but maybe something similar?

 

[Silverfire]

How is your mare doing now twiggy2?

 

[2horsesnomoney]

Bump!
How is your mare now twiggy2?? hopefully on the mend

 

[twiggy2]

I did start a new thread as she was put to sleep on thursday, but thatx for asking-she had heart failure

 

[2horsesnomoney]

Twiggy2 I am so sorry to hear that, please accept my deepest sympathy and kind thoughts at this difficult time. ((Hugs))