sad news :-(

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karlene

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My lovely 2 year old who ive posted on here about a few times went and had a few tests done and its sad news:-(

He started to lose weight so we got the vet to take bloods but whist doing his health check on him he notice he had a high resting heart rate. bloods come back clear so he went into the clinic for more test and an ecg, at first the vet was happy with the ecg saying that even though its fast it doesn't seem abnormal...
when the vets had a detailed look he has a fast beat in his lower ventricular . heart disease come back clear. Vets put him on steroids for 3 months and then repeat ecg.
The vet has warned me that this may not be a good outcome for him as his worried that with the fast beat it will cause inflammation of his heart (the reason his on the steroids) and then atrial fibrillation, if this is the case then the prognosis for my lovely big lad is really not a good one :-(

i know there's not really much point me posting but im just so sad and just wanted to talk about it xx thanks
 
((((((((((hugs)))))))))))) for you and (((((((((((vibes)))))))))))) for your lovely young horse. I hope it doesn't turn out to be anthing serious. xx
 
Ditto the above posts. Thats really sad. I'be had mine since he was a baby and I dread anything liek that happening. Lets hope the steroids work and the next ecg is more positive. Good luck x
 
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He's lovely - such a kind face.
 
I have no advice to offer - only some <<<<<vibes>>>>> for your lad, and some (((((hugs))))) for you.

I remember being in a similar position to you some 17 years ago. My young, newly purchased cob was taken ill and the vet didn't hold out much chance of survival. I have a clear recollection of him saying: 'I only give him 20%' :eek: and 'I fear for him. I really do'!! :eek: My young cob is now 20 years old, has a few grey hairs around the edges, and together we have been to some awesome places. :D

Vets sometimes do paint it a rather dark shade of black, but I can understand the reasons for this. However, it's just fantastic when the patient defies them and has them scratching their heads six months later! This is exactly what happened to us! ;):D

I wish you both all the very best for the future, and hope that your lad has long and fulfilling life.

C xx
 
karlene said:
He started to lose weight so we got the vet to take bloods but whist doing his health check on him he notice he had a high resting heart rate. bloods come back clear so he went into the clinic for more test and an ecg, at first the vet was happy with the ecg saying that even though its fast it doesn't seem abnormal...
when the vets had a detailed look he has a fast beat in his lower ventricular . heart disease come back clear. Vets put him on steroids for 3 months and then repeat ecg.
The vet has warned me that this may not be a good outcome for him as his worried that with the fast beat it will cause inflammation of his heart (the reason his on the steroids)
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Sorry to hear about your horse's predicament! :(

Actually, I find the treatment a bit surprising. Did the vet not prescribe other drugs for reducing the heart rate? Steroids by themselves tend to have a speeding up effect - in fact unwanted tachycardia is one of the risks of steroid use. Also, describing what happens to the heart as a result of the tachycardia as 'inflammation' seems a bit odd - hypertrophy would be the more usual (and correct) description. Of course, one can't be sure without knowing all the facts of the case - it just doesn't sound quite right to me.
 
fburton said:
Sorry to hear about your horse's predicament! :(

Actually, I find the treatment a bit surprising. Did the vet not prescribe other drugs for reducing the heart rate? Steroids by themselves tend to have a speeding up effect - in fact unwanted tachycardia is one of the risks of steroid use. Also, describing what happens to the heart as a result of the tachycardia as 'inflammation' seems a bit odd - hypertrophy would be the more usual (and correct) description. Of course, one can't be sure without knowing all the facts of the case - it just doesn't sound quite right to me.
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as what ive said above is how its all happened. The vet has only gave me steroids for him. As he said to me he's concerned about what the effects the 'fast beat' will have on him. To be honest i haven't got a clue about any of it. ive never had a horse or known of a horse with heart problems :-(. His resting heart rate is 50-56bpm. Clear bloods. temp is normal. What do you think?
 
karlene said:
as what ive said above is how its all happened. The vet has only gave me steroids for him. As he said to me he's concerned about what the effects the 'fast beat' will have on him. To be honest i haven't got a clue about any of it. ive never had a horse or known of a horse with heart problems :-(. His resting heart rate is 50-56bpm. Clear bloods. temp is normal. What do you think?
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Ok, 50-56 bpm at rest is a relatively mild tachycardia for horses. A clinician would normally only be concerned if the resting rate stayed above 60 bpm or so. Given that the drugs used to control rate can sometimes cause nasty side-effects, your vet would have decided they weren't indicated. However, if you want, I will ask a vet friend who actually practices equine cardiology what she thinks (I study mainly human arrhythmias).
 
fburton said:
Ok, 50-56 bpm at rest is a relatively mild tachycardia for horses. A clinician would normally only be concerned if the resting rate stayed above 60 bpm or so. Given that the drugs used to control rate can sometimes cause nasty side-effects, your vet would have decided they weren't indicated. However, if you want, I will ask a vet friend who actually practices equine cardiology what she thinks (I study mainly human arrhythmias).
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yes please, that would be great.
as i said i know nothing about this.
Thank you :-)
 
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