Echocardiographic analysis of segmental left ventricular wall motion at rest and after exercise in horses with and without heart disease

After standardized treadmill exercise, the wall motion score of the healthy horses was 1.12 ± 0.16 and the score of the horses with cardiac disorders was 1.52 ± 0.4. In contrast to human cardiology, the mid-septal segment showed a hypokinesia (kinetics index: 2) and an akinesia (kinetics index: 3) in two healthy horses after exercise. In all horses with low-grade and moderate cardiac disorder, an atypical wall motion pattern was observed after exercise. In all horses with high-grade cardiac disorder, an atypical motion pattern was documented in 5 out of 6 segments. An exercise test was not performed on the latter group.