Cornell offers alternative procedure for treating equine atrial fibrillationNovember 28, 2017Cardiologists at the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine are touting a new procedure to treat atrial fibrillation (AF): transvenous electrical cardioversion (TVEC). "I'm very excited to be able to offer this procedure," said Bruce Kornreich, DVM, Ph.D., DACVIM, associate director of the Feline Health Center and staff cardiologist. "AF is a very common condition in horses that we're often asked to diagnose and treat. This is another tool in our toolbox to convert these patients back to a normal heart rhythm." Cornell's Equine Hospital offered TVEC until about five years ago, when the hospital could no longer purchase catheters needed for the procedure, which involves electrodes in the heart to reset its rhythm via an electric shock. Recently, the catheters came back onto the market. At around the same time, Cornell veterinary students examined On-Star, a 19-year-old mare from the Cornell Equine Park teaching herd. "The students picked up the arrhythmia, and we diagnosed it as AF," said Gillian Perkins, DVM, DACVIM, medical director of the Equine/Nemo Farm Animal Hospitals, who coordinated the procedure. For horses that don't respond well to the traditional quinidine treatment or that have had AF for several years, TVEC might be …
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