Horses with pulmonary hypertension, CHF, or complex ventricular arrhythmias should not be ridden or driven to ensure safety and performance.
This consensus statement provides expert guidelines for evaluating and managing cardiovascular abnormalities in performance horses, emphasizing regular monitoring and identifying high-risk conditions that preclude riding or driving.
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Murmurs and arrhythmias are commonly detected in equine athletes. Assessing the relevance of these cardiovascular abnormalities in the performance horse can be challenging. Determining the impact of a cardiovascular disorder on performance, life expectancy, horse and rider or driver safety relative to the owner's future expectations is paramount. A comprehensive assessment of the cardiovascular abnormality detected is essential to determine its severity and achieve these aims. This consensus statement presents a general approach to the assessment of cardiovascular abnormalities, followed by a discussion of the common murmurs and arrhythmias. The description, diagnosis, evaluation, and prognosis are considered for each cardiovascular abnormality. The recommendations presented herein are based on available literature and a consensus of the panelists. While the majority of horses with cardiovascular abnormalities have a useful performance life, periodic reexaminations are indicated for those with clinically relevant cardiovascular disease. Horses with pulmonary hypertension, CHF , or complex ventricular arrhythmias should not be ridden or driven.
Reef et al. (Fri,) reported a other. Horses with pulmonary hypertension, CHF, or complex ventricular arrhythmias should not be ridden or driven to ensure safety and performance.