atrial fibrillation | Horse Racing Free Tips

2021 Japanese Horse of the Year Efforia (Jpn) (Epiphaneia {Jpn}–Katie's Heart {Jpn}, by Heart's Cry {Jpn}) has been retired from racing and will take up stallion duty at Shadai Stallion Station, owner U Carrot Farm announced on their website. The 5-year-old was pulled up in Sunday's G2 Kyoto Kinen with atrial fibrillation, and, although a Monday morning electrocardiogram showed no abnormalities, the decision was made to retire the 2021 Japanese Champion 3-Year-Old Colt.

Bred by Northern Farm, the colt won his two juvenile starts for trainer Yuichi Shikato in 2020, and then strode to victories in the G3 Tokinorminoru Kinen, and the G1 Satsuki Sho (Japanese 2000 Guineas) in succession at three. Second by only a nose to subsequent globetrotter Shahryar (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) in the G1 Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby), the bay was back on top in the G1 Tenno Sho (Autumn) and sealed his dual championship honours with a 3/4-length victory in the G1 Arima Kinen that December.

Winless in three starts as a 4-year-old last year, Efforia made his 5-year-old bow in the G2 Kyoto Kinen on Sunday and retires with a record of 11-6-1-0 and $6,884,415 in earnings.

Out of the three-time winner Katie's Heart, Efforia is a half-brother to two winners, while his dual French listed-winning second dam Katie's First (Kris {GB}) is a half-sister to three-time Japanese champion Hishi Amazon (Theatrical {Ire}) and three other stakes winners. My Katies (Jpn) (Sunday Silence), a half-sister to Katie's Heart, foaled fellow Japanese Horse of the Year and sire Admire Moon (Jpn) (End Sweep).

The post Japanese Horse Of The Year Efforia Retired To Stand At Shadai appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Atrial fibrillation is the most common heart arrhythmia found in horses, but it's also the one that most impacts a horse's athletic performance. The University of Illinois Veterinary Teaching Hospital in Urbana offers a unique way to treat the condition: transvenous electrical cardioversion (TVEC).

Atrial fibrillation, commonly known as “AFib,” is an electrical disorder that affects the heart's rhythm; the top two chambers of the heart (the atria) don't contract properly, preventing blood from moving to the rest of the body efficiently. This affects how hard a horse can work before he tires. It isn't known why horses get AFib, but their large hearts and slow heart rate could predispose them to loss of electrical coordination.

The most common sign of AFib is a sudden, dramatic decrease in performance. Occasionally a nosebleed can also be seen. A veterinarian should be contacted when this occurs. As part of the exam, the vet will listen to the horse's heart, which is how most AFib in horses is detected. The vet can confirm that the horse is experiencing AFib by performing an electrocardiogram (ECG).

Horses with AFib can be given oral quinidine to restore proper heart rhythm, but this medication does have side effects, including laminitis, swelling of the nose and even death. Horses given this medication that don't have heart disease typically return to the correct heart rhythm.

The TVEC procedure can also return a horse's heart to a normal rhythm. This treatment only takes place at specialty equine hospitals, including the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine. Once the horse has had a full work-up and been deemed clear for surgery, a catheter is placed in the horse's jugular vein, though which two small electrodes are fed. The electrodes then administer a shock to the heart to convert it back to its normal rhythm.

This is the same shock given to humans with AFib via paddles—horses have too much muscle to let the paddles work from the outside. Delivering the shock directly to a horse's heart muscle is effective; TVEC has a 95 percent success rate in converting the heart back to its normal rhythm.

The post Treatment Options For Horses With Atrial Fibrillation appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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