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Non‐invasive real‐time measurements of cardiac vagal tone in dogs with cardiac disease
Author(s) -
Little C. J. L.,
Reid S.W. J.,
Julu P. O. O.,
Hansen S.
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
veterinary record
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.261
H-Index - 99
eISSN - 2042-7670
pISSN - 0042-4900
DOI - 10.1136/vr.156.4.101
Subject(s) - medicine , cardiology , vagal tone , heart disease , heart failure , disease , confidence interval , heart rate , heart rate variability , blood pressure
In dogs with spontaneous heart disease, an electronically generated measurement of cardiac vagal tone, the cardiac index of parasympathetic activity, was a sensitive, simple and inexpensive measure of the severity of heart failure. Dogs with cardiac disease and an index score less than 3 were at 15·8 (95 per cent confidence interval 2·9 to 87·2) times the risk of dying within a year than those with a score of 3 and over. The measurement of the index provided an objective and reliable beat‐by‐beat measurement of cardiac vagal tone, which was prognostically useful in dogs with heart disease.