Sedation and anaesthesia of the horse with cardiac disease

CEPEF1-3 remain the largest studies on mortality associated with general anaesthesia and surgery and reported that around one-third of fatalities were due to intraoperative cardiac arrest (ICA) or postoperative cardiovascular collapse. ICA has become less common, possibly because halothane is used much less frequently [1]. Similar studies on the impact of sedation on healthy horses have not been conducted. Rather than seek solutions in modification of sedative or anaesthetic protocols, a more rational approach when a cardiac arrhythmia or murmur is detected is to evaluate the specific cause and re-evaluate the need for elective sedation or anaesthesia in light of this. Physiological arrhythmias, physiological murmurs (flow murmurs and mild regurgitation) are very common, particularly in athletes and no specific modifications in sedative or anaesthetic protocols are required. Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the commonest form of pathological arrhythmia. In horses engaged in less vigorous sports it is often first detected when the horse is undergoing a routine examination such as evaluation presedation or pre-anaesthesia ...