Irregular Heartbeat

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Chwee

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My 12 yo Trakehener gelding has a regular flu and tet booster today. I didn't use my regular vet as joined in on a group visit. Vet found him to have an irregular heartbeat during routine check.

I haven't spoken to the vet yet (she didn't bother to let me know, only hear d via yard manager at 7pm!), but am mildly freaking out.

I bought the horse in July 2008, had a full vetting, between then and now he's seen my regular vet several times (last time in Nov) for minor things and had his heart monitored on at least three occasions and everything was fine.

His performance is better than is has ever been (he trains at med dressage in light / med work), he's bright and completely normal in himself. Only change is that he's been kept in since Sat due to bad weather.

Anyone have any advice? Am worried but as he seems fine, not overly worried. I've had issues with this vet before who I used for my old horse who sent me on an expensive wild goose chase only to diagnose what I already told her (bursal swelling), but surely she couldn't have gotten this wrong?

Thanks x
 
Can you get another opinion, was the other vet from the same practice as your regular vet?
See what the vet says when you call them back as they should be able to give you more info on the foundings then maybe get the second opinion if still not sure.
If she thought it was serious then im sure she would have let you know asap
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My WB has a grade 2 heart mumur and it doesnt affect his performance at all. If he isnt showing any signs of tiring quicker than normal after excercise or slower recovery after fast work then its normally fine....though get a second opinion from the vet
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Thanks for the response. The vet was from a different practice. Will speak with her tomorrow before I consult with my regular vet.

I don't know whether it changes during exercise / takes longer to recover. He hasn't shown any signs, but then I haven't been monitoring him.
 
It's certainly true in humans ! (I exercise people on a treadmill for a living ) How upsetting for the poster to find out second hand.
Wait until you speak t o your normal vet,and if you're still worried ask for an ECG / echo.
I wouldn't worry if your normal vet has never picked up on something before .
 
Most likely that it is AV block, where the heart drops a beat every 3 or 4 beats when the horse is at rest. This is very common, particularly in fit horses, and goes away when the heart rate increases during exercise. This is the sort of thing that a vet might mention as an aside during a clinical exam.

If it was any other arrhythmia then I'm sure the vet would have spoken to you about it, as anything else e.g. atrial fib would be more unusual. I'd have a chat to her about it to make sure, and if she is suspicious you could ask your vet to do an ECG, but if your horse is looking and working well then I wouldn't worry too much at this stage.
 
My horse has second degree heart block and explanation of which is below off a web site: Second degree heart block is a regular dropping of a beat and is normal in the horse, and can be abolished by exciting the horse. An irregularly dropped beat is more concerning and does not usually disappear with exercise. The most common cause of this is atrial fibrillation, when the atria, or top chambers in the heart contract on their own, out of synchrony with the rest of the heart. As the atria are not contracting properly, the ventricles (or bigger bottom chambers) do not fill properly and this affects the ability of the heart to pump blood effectively. Horses that develop this in a race tend to perform very poorly and tail the field home. This is one condition which is checked for by veterinarians in a post-race examination. Some horses with atrial fibrillation convert back to normal on their own, while others require hospitalisation at a veterinary practice and repeated administration of quinidine.

I would ask your vet for more information if you are concerned and ask him exactly what your horse has ie. atrial fibrillation, second degree heartblock type 1 or 2 or any other recognised heart problem and get a definite diagnosis if you are concerned, but I think you are panicking needlessly like me and your horse will most likely have s.d.h.b type 2. x
 
I agree with all said so far. Don't get panicky until you have all the facts and the condition is confirmed. You have said there appears to be nothing else wrong with him so it could mean a simple atrial fibrilation which many horses have - most common in TBs. It can be treated with quinidine and the success rate is 83 to 96%.

My boy has an irregular irregular heartbeat which means he misses beats while at rest but also at exercise. It's called an Advanced Second Degree Atrioventricular Block with Ventricular and Superventricular Premature Depolarisation (Phew!). Because he is both irregualr at rest and work quinindine is not an option so he is on prednisolone.

When he was first diagnosed I knew nothing about the condition and people on this site did a lot to share their experience and knowledge about the condition (Thank you all!). There was one member who had AFIB with her horse but it turned out to be caused by low electrolytes in the blood so easily remedied.

Get him checked again to confirm and he may have to have an ECG to check the pattern over time (we had a 24 hour ECG)
 
Thanks all. I'm waiting for the vet to call me back, which could take hours based on track records!

Thinking about it, I introduced some conditioning cubes to his diet a couple of weeks ago - could this have contributed?

Thanks again for your advice, I feel much calmer!
 
I doubt that the conditioning cubes will have caused this so don't go blaming yourself for it.
One of the things we learned about AFib, while the boy was in hospital, was that it is not unusual for these things to clear up on their own and they delayed him going into hospital for a few days for this reason.

You would definately notice a drop off in performance (often) the day after working so if you havn't noticed this then its a good sign. With my boy he was good one day, and really had it all together, but would struggle the next and it went on like that every other day.

Best of luck to you both but do let us know how it goes.
 
Finally spoke with the vet. She said that it's a level 2 av block. She said it's fairly normal in fit horses as the heart is so efficient it can miss a beat and not to worry unless it occurs during exercise. But said not to worry about further investigations uness I notice a drop in performance / increased recovery times.

So basically what you all said
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Thanks again for the advice

A x
 
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