DISEASES OF THE HEART 99 



DISEASES OF THE HEART \ 



Veterinarians, as a rule, do not find diseases of the 

 heart of sufficient importance to give them much study. 

 When a distinct heart lesion is encountered in horses 

 there is really only one important point in the diagnosis, 

 and that concerns the fact whether the lesion is functional 

 or structural. A structural heart lesion in horses means, 

 almost in every instance, that the horse has become un- 

 serviceable. A possible exception to this statement might 

 be found in a case where a compensatory hypertrophy 

 had occurred. From a practical standpoint it is a very 

 reasonable statement to say that heart diseases in horses, 

 accompanied by noteworthy organic lesions, are never 

 worthy of treatment. 



In the interests of the client the best practitioner under 

 such conditions is the one who can be relied upon to ap- 

 preciate this at the earliest possible moment, and to its 

 fullest extent. In no other class of diseases is this so 

 true as in diseases of the heart. While it is many times 

 not a very difficult matter to so handle the case that the 

 horse will apparently regain a fair semblance of health, 

 it is almost a foregone conclusion that the symptoms will 

 return as soon as the horse resumes its regular duties, if 

 the heart substance has suffered structural damage. 

 Luckily, heart diseases per se are quite rare in the horse, 

 and they may almost be said to occur only as a sequel to 

 some acute infectious disease. 



Functional heart diseases are always transient in 

 horses, and in most instances disappear without treat- 

 ment. The evidences of organic heart lesions are 

 chiefly : 



1, Persistence of the symptoms. 



2. Involvement of other organs in the symptom com- 

 plex, especially of the kidneys. 



