Exercise testing is an important component of cardiovascular assessment and includes continuous recording of an ECG using a device that has permanent storage and playback capabilities. Recording quality is crucial for subsequent analyses of the ECG tracing, since excessive motion artefacts or lead failure can severely impair the diagnostic quality of a recording.While analyzing a stress ECG, the clinician has to keep in mind the main questions that need to be answered. These are usually focused on defining the safety risks to the horse and to the rider or driver, which is paramount in horses with cardiovasculardisease. Safety risks may be linked to inappropriate exercising heart rates, aberrant conduction, or ectopy associated with physical activity and adrenergic stimulation. Of principal concern are the hemodynamic consequences of rate and rhythm disturbances (hypotension, low cardiac output, poor peripheral perfusion) and the potential for further electrical destabilization (malignant, potentially fatal arrhythmias). Generally, ventricular arrhythmias have a greater potential impact on safety compared to supraventricular arrhythmias.
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