Smartphone-based ECG assessment of heart rhythm at birth in healthy foals born after spontaneous or induced parturition: is there a potential difference?

Background- Subclinical electrophysiological derangements occur at birth in foals. Smartphone-based ECG (spECG) is practical tools to assess heart rhythm and was recently validated in foals. Objectives-To assess the heart rate (HR) and rhythm at birth in clinically healthy foals born after spontaneous and induced parturition using a spECG. Animals- Newborn healthy foals born after at term spontaneous (SF) or induced foaling (IF). Methods- Cohort study. In SF and IF groups, a spECG was performed immediately at birth (T0) and after 5 min (T5). SpECG tracings were selected for quality. HR was manually calculated and was compared between groups and time-points. Tracings were manually interpreted for rhythm diagnosis. Results- Eighty-one spECG tracings owing to 42 healthy foals (36 SF, 6 IF) were of adequate quality. There were no significant differences in HR between SF and IF and between T0 and T5 (p > 0.05). Six foals were diagnosed with atrial fibrillation and 4 with sinus arrhythmia. Conclusions and clinical importance- The spECG was feasible and detected subclinical arrhythmias at birth. A potential relationship with induced foaling warrants confirmation. Provided good quality tracing is obtained, the device might assist in the clinical assessment at birth, especially in screening high-risk foals.