Methods and reliability of tissue Doppler imaging for assessment of left ventricular radial wall motion in horses.
Authors: Schwarzwald C C, Schober K E, Bonagura J D
Journal: Journal of veterinary internal medicine
Summary
# Editorial Summary: Tissue Doppler Imaging for Equine Cardiac Assessment Tissue Doppler imaging (TDI) offers a non-invasive method to evaluate left ventricular function in horses, yet its technical feasibility and reliability had not been systematically established in equine practice. Schwarzwald and colleagues conducted repeated echocardiographic examinations on six adult horses (three Standardbreds and three Thoroughbreds, aged 8–14 years) using TDI, with two independent observers performing assessments both within single sessions and across multiple days to quantify measurement variability. Pulsed-wave TDI variables of systolic left ventricular function demonstrated very low to low variability (coefficient of variation <15%), making them suitable for clinical use, whilst colour TDI and measurements of diastolic function and left atrial function exhibited moderate to high variability (>25%), limiting their current reliability. These findings validate TDI as a feasible and repeatable technique for assessing systolic function in adult horses, particularly when pulsed-wave methodology is employed on unsedated animals, though farriers and practitioners should recognise that diastolic parameters require further refinement before routine clinical application. The practical value of serial TDI monitoring in detecting subclinical cardiac disease or tracking functional changes remains to be determined through prospective clinical studies.
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Practical Takeaways
- •TDI is a feasible non-invasive technique for assessing left ventricular function in adult horses without sedation, with good reliability for systolic function measurements
- •Pulsed-wave TDI is more reliable than color TDI for measuring LV function parameters in horses
- •Clinical application of TDI for equine cardiac assessment requires further investigation to establish diagnostic thresholds and prognostic significance
Key Findings
- •Tissue Doppler imaging (TDI) assessment of LV radial wall motion was feasible in all 6 horses studied
- •Measurement variabilities were very low (CV <5%) to low (CV 5-15%) for most variables
- •Within-day and between-day interobserver variabilities were low to moderate (CV 16-25%) for most variables
- •Pulsed-wave TDI variables showed very low to low variability for systolic LV function, while diastolic function variables showed moderate to high variability (CV >25%)