Let the heart go yonder

A patient being fitted with the Televet 100 ECG and Holter system. (Photo courtesy Kruuse)The old way: “Sit down, shut up, don't move around too much and mess up these wires, and give us a good resting ECG.”

The new way: “Strap this on and go crazy, kid. Let's figure out what the ol' ticker does when you're enjoying a normal day, yeah?”

That's the promise behind Kruuse's Televet 100 Telemetric ECG and Holter. The wireless device can be wrapped up or slipped into a soon-to-be-released halter so dogs, especially those post-surgery, can have ECG readings taken during normal activities.

In telemetric mode, the Televet 100 transmits data in real-time, while Holter mode stores data on an SD card that's plugged into the ECG device for up to 30 hours.

Software with the unit searches each 24-hour recording for an overview of the morphology of the heartbeats.

A team of veterinarians at Washington State University's College of Veterinary Medicine in Pullman, Washington, used the devices on various cardiac, surgical and trauma patients as well as those with artificial pacemakers. Allison Heaney, DVM, MS, DACVIM (cardiology), was pleased, according to a Kruuse release.

“We have enjoyed the high-quality diagnostic tracings, flexibility of the system, the lightweight unit, and in general the use of this piece of equipment in our small animal patients,” Dr. Heaney says.

Dr. Heaney shared two case studies, one with a cat seen for heart failure due to hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and the other a boxer with arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy. “Telemetry in cats is particularly challenging, as they often object to the monitoring device due to painful clips or confinement due to wires,” Dr. Heaney says, neither of which are problems for Televet 100.

The wireless telemetry device also helped with getting a better reading from the scared boxer: “She became very nervous in the ICU, and it quickly became apparent that we were unlikely to get a representative ECG of a normal day for this particular dog. Our solution was to place an SD card into the unit and use it at home, where the dog would be more comfortable.”