Geriatric cardiac disease

摘要

Cardiovascular pathology is relatively common in the older horse. Clinical problems associated with cardiovascular disease may range from relatively insignificant cardiac murmurs through to frank congestive cardiac failure or collapse. Investigationof cardiac disease can now be performed relatively easily because echocardiography and advanced electrocardiographic techniques are increasingly available. This has increased the understanding of the epidemiology and natural progression of the more common cardiac diseases. In other species, there has been an important expansion of knowledge of the neuroendocrine changes that accompany cardiac dysfunction and vascular mediators may have value both as prognostic indicators and as targets for drug therapy.Investigation of the neuroendocrine changes associated with heart failure in the horse is likely to be equally productive.