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Electrocardiography of the normal domestic pet rabbit
Author(s) -
Lord B.,
Boswood A.,
Petrie A.
Publication year - 2010
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.c3212
Subject(s) - qrs complex , amplitude , electrocardiography , medicine , heart rate , qt interval , cardiology , pr interval , nuclear medicine , mathematics , biomedical engineering , physics , blood pressure , optics
To establish a well‐tolerated technique for recording electrocardiograms (ECGs) and a reference range for the normal pet rabbit ECG, 46 healthy pet rabbits were studied. The following reference ranges were calculated. Heart rate was 198 to 330 bpm. P waves had a duration of 0.01 to 0.05 seconds and an amplitude of 0.04 to 0.12 mV. The P‐R interval was 0.04 to 0.08 seconds and the duration of the QRS complex was 0.02 to 0.06 seconds. The amplitude of the R wave was 0.03 to 0.39 mV. The Q‐T interval was 0.08 to 0.16 seconds. The amplitude of the T wave was 0.05 to 0.17 mV. Mean electrical axis was found to be −43° to +80°. Evidence of variation due to breed or bodyweight was not found to be significant, except for a quadratic relationship between R wave amplitude and bodyweight. The ECG recording technique used in this study for pet rabbits was well tolerated and shown to be both reliable and repeatable.