Lezing 'Equine Echocardiography: where are we and where are we going?'

Echocardiography is the main diagnostic modality for common cardiac conditions in horses, such as valvular regurgitation or other structural heart disease. Current developments in equine echocardiography focus on advanced imaging techniques, expanding its clinical applications and constituting international guidelines. The use of echocardiography to evaluate pulmonary artery distensibility index is a field of ongoing research, allowing for a more reliable assessment of right heart function and aiding in the diagnosis of pulmonary hypertension.

Recently, new scoring systems for aortic and mitral valve regurgitation have been proposed, which remain to be validated. Currently, there are no standardized imaging and measurement guidelines in equine echocardiography. Recently, an expert group also started to establish consensus guidelines for echocardiographic imaging and measurement. In his lecture, prof. Schwarzwald will provide an update on the recent developments in equine echocardiography.