RE:need to know.....

[Sue Brown <sbrown@wamedes.com>]

>I would have to be cautious in making 
>comparisons to readings obtained with the heart rate monitor vs stethoscope 
>if both are not used simutaniously. Heart rates can spike up or down 10 or 
>more beats in the blink of an eye (as any experienced pulse taker can 
>verify) for no apparent reason. I believe that if a vet or other person 
>takes a reading with a stethoscope even a minute later that the heart rate 
>may well not be the same. 

I've worked in an operating room for 25 years with a heart monitor beeping
in the background all of the time.  Heart rates change continuously...altho
some hearts seem to be more susceptible to stimuli than others.  If the
patient has an arterial line in, you can see that blood pressure also
changes continuously.  Don't know how closely this correlates with horses,
but I imagine the muscle fibers are pretty similar.  

Sue


sbrown@wamedes.com
Tyee Farm
Marysville, Wa.


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