Congenital heart defects in Arabian horses and the prospects of genetic testing: A review

Caitlin Brown; Monika Stefaniuk-Szmukier; Annelies Decloedt; Niek Beijerink; Natasha A Hamilton; Brandon D Velie

doi:10.1111/evj.14062

Congenital heart defects in Arabian horses and the prospects of genetic testing: A review

Equine Vet J. 2024 Jan 25. doi: 10.1111/evj.14062. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Caitlin Brown¹, Monika Stefaniuk-Szmukier², Annelies Decloedt³, Niek Beijerink^{4

5}, Natasha A Hamilton⁵, Brandon D Velie¹

Affiliations

¹ Equine Genetics and Genomics Group, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
² Department of Animal Molecular Biology, National Research Institute of Animal Production, Balice, Poland.
³ Equine Cardioteam Ghent, Department of Internal Medicine, Reproduction and Population Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University, Merelbeke, Belgium.
⁴ Veterinaire Specialisten Vught, Vught, The Netherlands.
⁵ Sydney School of Veterinary Science, Faculty of Science, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

PMID: 38272847
DOI: 10.1111/evj.14062

Abstract

Congenital heart defects (CHDs) can have profound and potentially life-threatening consequences on horses' health and performance capability. While CHDs are rare in the general horse population, the Arabian breed is disproportionately overrepresented and thus is widely suspected to be genetically predisposed. This review discusses the most common CHDs in Arabian horses, including ventricular septal defect (VSD), tetralogy of Fallot (TOF), patent duct arteriosus (PDA), tricuspid valve atresia (TVA) and atrial septal defect (ASD). This review also explores how future research into the genetic factors that likely underpin many CHDs can revolutionise the way these disorders are managed in Arabian horses.

Keywords: cardiac; horse; tetralogy of Fallot; ventricular septal defect.

Publication types

Review