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  Discussion on Miniature filly, not A-Fib; now more serious?
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Member:
amylacy

Posted on Monday, Jun 11, 2007 - 1:15 pm:

I had posted about my mini 2yo filly under the Atrial Fibrillation topic, but that diagnosis has now been proven to not be the case. She had to go into the emergency room with a large vaginal polyp that needed to be removed (I thought she was prolapsing, talk about panic), and while she was there I had them do the cardiac diagnostics and this is what they said.

"Filly has previously recognized irregular heart rhythm and systolic heart murmur. An ECG and cardiac ultrasound was performed. ECG findings show the presence of 2nd degree AV block. Occasional ventricular premature contractions were present. A brief cardiac ultrasound was performed and vegetative endocarditis was suspected."

They also noted the presence of a 3rd degree heart murmur.

Prognosis is GOOD for life, FAIR for breeding soundness.

The vet indicated concern that her heart may not be able to accommodate the extra workload of carrying a growing fetus, if I should choose to breed her next year which was my original plan for her. This is a real blow to my breeding program, this filly is excellent and was purchased specifically to advance things in this area.

I was extremely lucky in the timing of this diagnosis. Last week there was a conference for the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine here in the Seattle area. My filly was accepted as a subject for a teaching lab. She had a full cardiac consultation with Dr. Virginia Reef. I have not heard the results of this evaluation at this point. I will post what I learn when I hear.

Dr. O, what is your experience with this preliminary diagnosis of 2nd degree AV block and 3rd degree heart murmur with suspected vegetative endocarditis, especially in a young horse that has not been exposed to athletic conditioning?

Also, is there some guideline to what a vet means when they say GOOD, FAIR, etc.???
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Tuesday, Jun 12, 2007 - 7:09 am:

Second degree heart block and a third degree murmur are all found in clinically normal horses at rest. When incidental, exercise should make them disappear. On the lesions let's wait and see if Dr Reef confirms lesions on the endocardium and what she recommends. Good and fair may differ somewhat from doctor to doctor so when it comes to your case you should ask what they mean. In general good means it "probably will be OK", fair usually means about 50/50.
DrO
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