Search Results
You are looking at 1 - 2 of 2 items for :
- Author or Editor: Atsushi Hiraga x
- Cardiovascular System x
- Refine by Access: All Content x
Abstract
Objective—To determine the influence of transportation by road and air on heart rate (HR) and HR variability (HRV) in horses.
Animals—6 healthy horses.
Procedures—ECG recordings were obtained from horses before (quarantine with stall rest [Q]; 24 hours) and during a journey that included transportation by road (RT; 4.5 hours), waiting on the ground in an air stall (W; 5.5 hours), and transportation by air (AT; 11 hours); HR was determined, and HRV indices of autonomic nervous activity (low-frequency [LF; 0.01 to 0.07 Hz] and high-frequency [HF; 0.07 to 0.6 Hz] power) were calculated.
Results—Mean ± SD HRs during Q, RT, W, and AT were 38.9 ± 1.5 beats/min, 41.7 ± 5.6 beats/min, 41.5 ± 4.3 beats/min, and 48.8 ± 5.6 beats/min, respectively; HR during AT was significantly higher than HR during Q. The LF power was significantly higher during Q (3,454 ± 1,087 milliseconds2) and AT (3,101 ± 567 milliseconds2) than it was during RT (1,824 ± 432 milliseconds2) and W (2,072 ± 616 milliseconds2). During Q, RT, W, and AT, neither HF powers (range, 509 to 927 milliseconds2) nor LF:HF ratios (range, 4.1 to 6.2) differed significantly. The HR during RT was highly correlated with LF power (R 2 = 0.979), and HR during AT was moderately correlated with the LF:HF ratio (R 2 = 0.477).
Conclusions and Clinical Relevance—In horses, HR and HRV indices during RT and AT differed, suggesting that exposure to different stressors results in different autonomic nervous influences on HR.
Abstract
Objective—To determine whether evaluation of heart rate (HR) and HR variability (HRV) during prolonged road transportation in horses provides a sensitive index of autonomic stimulation.
Animals—Five 2-year-old Thoroughbreds.
Procedure—ECGs were recorded as horses were transported for 21 hours in a 9-horse van. Heart rate, high-frequency (HF) power, low-frequency (LF) power, and LF-to-HF ratio from Fourier spectral analyses of ECGs were calculated and compared with values recorded during a 24-hour period of stall rest preceding transportation.
Results—HR, HF power, and LF power had diurnal rhythms during stall rest but not during road transportation. Heart rate was higher and HF power and LF power lower during road transportation than stall rest, and HR, HF power, LF power, and LF-to-HF ratio all decreased with time during road transportation. Heart rate during stall rest was weakly and inversely associated with LF power, but during road transportation was strongly associated with LF power, HF power, and LF-to-HF ratio. Neither LF power nor HF power was correlated with LF-to-HF ratio during stall rest, but LF power was strongly and HF power weakly correlated with LF-to-HF ratio during road transportation. High-frequency power and LF power were significantly correlated with each other during stall rest and road transportation. Heart rate was significantly influenced by LF power and LF-to-HF ratio during stall rest (R 2 = 0.40) and by HF power and LF-to-HF ratio during road transportation (R 2 = 0.86).
Conclusions and Clinical Relevance—HR is influenced by different sympathovagal mechanisms during stall rest, compared with during road transportation; HRV may be a sensitive indicator of stress in transported horses.
