Twenty-Four-Hour Electrocardiographic Monitoring for Assessment of Cardiac Arrhythmias in Healthy and Hospitalized Goats

BACKGROUND: Continuous 24-h electrocardiographic (ECG) recording is a well-established method for the detection of intermittent arrhythmias in veterinary medicine. The clinical utility of 24-h ECG for the detection of intermittent arrhythmias in hospitalized goats has not been reported. HYPOTHESIS/OBJECTIVES: (1) Determine the clinical feasibility of continuous 24-h ECG monitoring in goats; (2) Report the frequency of ventricular arrhythmias in healthy and hospitalized medically ill goats. ANIMALS: Eleven healthy goats, 20 hospitalized medically ill goats. METHODS: Prospective clinical study. Continuous 24-h ECG recordings were performed. Electrocardiograms were analyzed for rhythm diagnosis. The number of ventricular premature depolarizations (VPD) was compared between groups using the Wilcoxon rank sum test. RESULTS: The ECG monitors were well-tolerated in 30/31 goats, with no adverse effects. Twenty-eight recordings were of sufficient quality for analysis with a median readable time of 23 h (range, 15-24 h). Eleven goats had ventricular arrhythmias (4 healthy, 7 medically ill), consisting of single VPDs only in 7 goats (3 healthy, 4 medically ill), VPDs and ventricular couplets in 4 goats (1 healthy, 3 medically ill), and ventricular rhythm consistent with accelerated idioventricular rhythm (AIVR) or ventricular tachycardia in 2 goats (2 medically ill). A significant difference in the number of VPDs in healthy goats (median, 0; range, 0-9) and medically ill goats was not identified (median, 0; range, 0-201; p = 0.66), but a larger sample size is required. CONCLUSION AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE: Most goats tolerated 24-h ECG monitoring well, although a few recordings were of poor quality. Ventricular arrhythmias were seen in healthy and medically ill goats.