A Review of Treatment Options and Prognosis in Equine Atrial Fibrillation

摘要

If there is no underlying cardiac disease, atrial fibrillation (AF) in horses generally has a good prognosis for restoration of sinus rhythm and athletic potential. The number of treatment options are increasing, and they include electrical cardioversion. New pharmacologic therapies are also being investigated. Atrial fibrillation (AF) remains the most common clinically relevant arrhythmia in the horse. Traditionally, treatment has involved the administration of quinidine salts either orally or morerecently, intravenously. The prognosis has generally been considered to be good as long as the horse does not have underlying cardiac disease and the arrhythmia did not occur for>4 mo. Older and larger horses have been considered to have a reduced prognosis. New therapeutic options are now available. These include new medications, such as flecainide, and non-pharmacologic strategies, such as electrical cardioversion. Equine practitioners should be aware of the therapeutic options available for this arrhythmia and of the prognosis both for response to treatment and future athletic performance.