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To the Heart of the Matter
With the tragic and unexpected death of Best Mate The Home of Rest for Horses continues with is programme of non-invasive research into heart conditions which can affect any horse.
The Home has already invested thousands of pounds into researching heart disease and is at present funding a research project into Aortic Insufficiency (AI) at The Royal Veterinary College. AI is the most common form of cardiac disease in the general horse population.
This study, which aims to test whether equine aortic insufficiency is associated with progressive cardiac fibrosis, began in March 2005. Cardiac fibrosis is an abnormal thickening and scarring of tissue most often following injury, infection, lack of oxygen or surgery.
This three-year project has already established a method and reference range for evaluating left ventricular enlargement and a standardised technique for harvesting myocardial and endocardial tissue.
Best Mate's heart condition was not anticipated. Many cases of heart disease are only discovered at post mortem. The study aims to find biochemical markers which can be used as non-invasive indicators of cardiac fibrosis in all horses of any age, breed or gender.
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