Basic echocardiography guide

Echocardiography in horses allows cardiac anatomy evaluation, as well as hemodynamic assessment of heart and great vessels. It is a complementary diagnosis tool, mainly indicate when a heart murmur is detected during auscultation, or in horses presenting collapsing, poor performance, exercise intolerance, intermittent fever or clinical signs of heart failure. Echocardiography must be systematic, and it is recommended to work in quite conditions. This report describes a basic echocardiography protocol that can be used as a simple guide for performing this technique in horses.