title: Evaluation of in-hospital electrocardiography versus 24-hour Holter for rate control in dogs with atrial fibrillation.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine if the in-clinic ECG-derived heart rate could predict the at-home Holter-derived 24-hour average heart rate (Holter24h ), and whether it is useful to identify slow versus fast atrial fibrillation in dogs.
  
  
  METHODS
  82 pairs of 1-minute ECGs and 24-hour Holter recordings were acquired in 34 dogs with atrial fibrillation. The initial 24-hour Holter was used to test if the ECG heart rate can identify dogs with "slow" versus "fast" atrial fibrillation based on a Holter24h threshold value of 140 bpm.
  
  
  RESULTS
  ECG heart rate overestimated Holter24h by 26 bpm (95% CI: 3 bpm, 48 bpm; P < 0 · 015) with a 95% limit of agreement of -21 to 83 bpm. The in-clinic ECG-derived heart rate Ä155 bpm had a sensitivity of 73% and a specificity of 100% for identifying a Holter24h HR Ä140 bpm; an in-clinic ECG-derived HR <160 bpm had a sensitivity and specificity of 91% each.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In-clinic ECG assessment of heart rate in dogs with atrial fibrillation does not reliably predict the heart rate in their home environment. However, an in-clinic heart rate greater than 155 bpm is useful in identifying "fast" atrial fibrillation, allowing clinicians to stratify which case may benefit from antiarrhythmic therapy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Small Animal Teaching Hospital, School of Veterinary Science, University of Liverpool, Leahurst, Neston, CH64 7TE.
authors.forename: A R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Gelzer
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Small Animal Teaching Hospital, School of Veterinary Science, University of Liverpool, Leahurst, Neston, CH64 7TE.
authors.forename: M S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Kraus
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rishniw
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001281:Atrial Fibrillation / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000662:veterinary*; D004283:Dog Diseases / Q000503:physiopathology*; D004285:Dogs; D004562:Electrocardiography / Q000662:veterinary*; D015716:Electrocardiography, Ambulatory / Q000662:veterinary*; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D019095:Point-of-Care Systems; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests