Has anyone ever heard of or encountered "equine heart murmur leading to stroke and death?

Question

I had a two year old registered full lepard appaloosa that was born on my farm as healthy as they come. She ran and played with all the other horses, was extremely mischeivious, had absolutely no signs of any kind of ailment, and appeared absolutely healthy as could be.
Several days ago she was in the barn being a pain as usual when all of a sudden she collapsed never able to get back to her feet. We had two vets respond immediately and spent several fruitless hours doing everything possible but ended with euthanasia. She was able to move her head but that was it. I have had horses all my life and thought I'd seen everything however, I was absolutely stunned by this occurance!
I was just searching to find some information if anyone had ever encountered such a situation. I found heart murmurs are common among horses but could find nothing referring to equine strokes.
The vets suspect she suffered from a heart murmur as they clearly detected it while at the farm, leading to a stroke.

All of our equine, bovine, goats, pigs etc receive constant veterinarian care at our farm for obvious reasons.
We were stunned that the vets had never detected this prior to this event. There are several vets within this practice and they are considered the best in the area.
We were told these murmurs can come and go depending on the cause, such as hole in the heart. I'm some what suspect!

Answer 1

I'm very sorry to read about the loss of your home bred horse.
For owners and veterinarians, it is extremely frustrating when a horse dies suddenly and no explanation can be found. While intoxications as a cause of unexpected death are relatively uncommon, it is important to be aware of them, as they are potentially preventable. In a recent study of 200 cases of sudden and unexplained death in horses and ponies older than one year, no cause of death was found in roughly one third of the cases. The remaining died from cardiovascular, gastrointestinal or respiratory lesions.

For accurate diagnosis of heart disease, the vet examining the horse must appreciate unique aspects of equine cardiovascular physiology in order to distinguish normal variation from a pathophysiologic state. Cardiovascular problems in the horse include auscultation of cardiac murmurs, identification of cardiac arrhythmias, and recognition of congestive heart failure. A cardiac data base including history, general and cardiovascular examination, and resting and postexercise electrocardiogram are necessary to evaluate most horses for significant heart disease. Additional studies, such as echocardiography and cardiac catheterization, are useful in selected cases. Because some types of heart disease are amendable by therapy, an accurate diagnosis is needed to direct treatment and offer a realistic prognosis.

In general, most horses that collapse and die suddenly are the victims of an aortic aneurysm, which is a weakening in the wall of the aorta--the major vessel leading from the heart. This area of weakened wall can rupture and the horse then bleeds out internally. In other words, there are no external signs of bleeding, except that the mucous membranes of the mouth, nose, eyes, rectum, and genitalia become very pale. People can develop a similar weakening of the wall of major vessels, and surgical intervention to strengthen the area is usually indicated if the aneurysm is diagnosed prior to its rupture. So far, vets have been unsuccessful in developing successful ways to either diagnose or treat these aneurysms in the horse.

Alternatively, horses can develop a rhythm abnormality in the heart beat, most often atrial fibrillation, which is an irregular contraction of the collecting chambers of the heart. Under circumstances of great stress, this rhythm abnormality can lead to collapse and possible death, although more often it results in exercise intolerance.

Without a full autopsy, it is unlikely that you will ever know the reason for the loss of your horse.

Answer 2

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Answer 3

it is possible for a horse to have a heart murmur and not be detected. and then die from a stroke. i saw a horse fall over dead at a show from a stroke. they later found out the horse had a heart murmur. the horse was 7 years old and very healthy and in very good shape. i very sorry for ur loss. i hope this helps u.

also- i dont know if it is the same in horses as in humanes but when i got put in the hospital(from a stroke) when i was 18 they found i had a heart murmur... the family doc never detected it before and said that it was common to not be able to detect until something happened. i was healthy as they come to until that day.

Answer 4

I Have Heard Of This Happening. Ive Never Had It Happen To Me, But One Of My Friends Had Been Telling Me About A Horse That Had a Heart Attack.. And I Have Heard Of Horses Having Strokes. We Owned a Mare (Thouroughbred) Who Had a Heart Murmer, And Our Vets Warned Us That There Is A Possibility Of It Becoming worse, Or The Mare Having A Stroke. Nothing Ever Happened, But I Have Heard Of Horses Dying From Heart attack And Stroke.

Answer 5

It does happen, but it's generally uncommon and usually undetected until too late. A women was lunging her four year old gelding and he just dropped dead out of the blue. Fortunately she wasn't riding but she was shocked and heartbroken. There's really not much to do. Even regular check-ups may not catch a murmur it may only be an issue when the horse is excited or working and never cause a problem or be devestating when least expected. I'm very sorry you lost your filly. Try to remember that her short years with you were healthy and happy.

Answer 6

I haven't had any experience with a heart murmur, but I know a POA mare that died of a heart attack. She didn't show any signs of health problems either. She has a couple foals, was very green broke, and was a delight to be around. One morning, the owner saw her laying down out in the pasture, went out there to check on her, and she had passed away. It was very very unexpected.

Answer 7

yup I have right before ending my first marriage. I even had a friend that was interested in helping me. But I was just really starved for attention, confused about my life and well a bit curious. I didn't want to end up hurting her in my confused state so I didn't allow anything to begin. She was sweet and if I was going to switch I would give her a call.