Can someone explain to me what a Grade II systolic heart murmur is in horses?

Question

My horse was kicked and the other horse's shoe dug into his front leg just below the knee joint and had to go to the Royal Veterinary College last night because there was concern that he might need a operation under general anaesthetic ( to do with his carpal something). While we were there, I was told that he had a Grade II systolic heart murmur (he ultimately did not need the operation, thank god and is doing well so far).

Can anyone please explain exactly what a Grade II heart murmur is and what this means for my horse.

Answer 1

You should find out what grade scale they use. If it's grade 2 out of 6 it's not too bad, if it's grade 2 out of 4 or 5 then it's more serious.

Systolic murmurs occur during the heart’s muscular contraction phase (systole) during which blood is pumped from the heart. Systolic murmurs are further described as early systolic, mid-systolic, late systolic or holosystolic, referring to when they occur during the contraction period. Systolic murmurs may be innocent or may signal potential problems such as aortic stenosis or mitral regurgitation.

A heart murmur is an abnormal heart sound that results from the turbulent flow of blood through the heart. Heart murmurs are usually detected by a veterinarian listening to the heartbeat with a stethoscope. A heart murmur may also be classified according to how loud it is. Based on a scale from one to six, with higher designations being more intense (louder), a veterinarian may label a heart murmur as “grade 1,” “grade 2” and so forth. However, since listening to the heart is the veterinarian’s primary tool for distinguishing heart murmurs, such labeling is subjective and not precisely measurable. Heart murmurs are also described by their location in the chest, from their radiation or transmission (to neck or back), and their pitch (low frequency or high pitch, etc.).

Although many heart murmurs are unassociated with disease, they may also stem from a cardiovascular problem such as:

Valvular stenosis. A narrowing of one of the heart’s four valves which causes blood flow to become more turbulent as it is forcefully pumped through the smaller opening.

Mitral valve prolapse. A condition in which the flaps of the mitral valve (located between the left atrium and left ventricle) cannot close properly. As a result, blood may leak back through the valve (mitral regurgitation), when it should only move forward.

Aortic regurgitation. A condition in which the aortic valve (located between the left ventricle and the aorta) does not close properly, allowing blood to leak back into the left ventricle rather than being pumped out to the body.

Aortic aneurysm. The dilation, bulging or ballooning out of part of the wall of the aorta, resulting in a murmur caused by aortic regurgitation. Untreated, aortic aneurysm puts the patient at risk for a ruptured aneurysm leading eventually to death.

Congenital heart disease. Heart defects or other conditions present since birth. This is the most common cause of non-innocent heart murmurs.

Enlarged heart. An increase in the size of the heart muscle that indicates that the heart is overworked. An enlarged heart due to a non-cancerous tumor called a cardiac myxoma may cause a heart murmur.

Increased transvalvular blood. A condition in which blood is flowing more rapidly than normal through the heart’s lower chambers (ventricles).

Innocent murmurs (sometimes called Still’s or functional heart murmurs) do not represent any long-term heart-related problems and are not related to any structural abnormality of the heart. They are associated with rapid or unusual blood flow through the heart's valves. Such situations are associated with overactive thyroid function, fever, anemia and pregnancy among other things.

Heart murmurs, in themselves, are typically not treatable. Nor do they warrant treatment. If, however, the veterinarian determines through careful testing that a murmur is neither innocent nor a natural murmur resulting from fever or pregnancy, the underlying cause will be investigated and treated. Patients with existing valvular heart disease or congenital heart defects may need to receive medical or even surgical treatment.

Individuals with innocent murmurs have an excellent prognosis and, in the vast majority of cases, will see no disruptions in their normal, everyday routine.

Answer 2

A systolic murmur is to with when it occurs, in this case when the heart is pumping as opposed to when it is emptying.

A grade 2 is not particuarly serious although this depends on the horse, my 15 year ols TBX has the same and is still going strong.

Heart murmurs in horses are more common than people realise, some types can be a walking time bomb.

It would mean if you ever decide to sell your horse he would fail a vetting.

Answer 3

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Answer 4

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Answer 5

i cant add anything to that that answer. but glad your horse is getting better and i wouldn't work him to hard if he has a heart murmur.

for more information look at this site!

http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/index.jsp