A veterinary specialist from the University of Pretoria (UP) and the Onderstepoort Veterinary Academic Hospital (OVAH) of the Faculty has performed South Africa’s first transvenous electrical cardioversion (TVEC) on a horse. It is believed this is the first time this procedure is performed in Africa.
Dr Christina Eberhardt, an internal medicine and cardiology specialist for horses and Senior Lecturer in Equine Medicine at the UP Faculty of Veterinary Science, led a team that performed the procedure on Skye, a 17-year-old Warmblood at the end of April 2023.
Transvenous electrical cardioversion is a new and advanced treatment for horses with atrial fibrillation - an irregular heartbeat. During this procedure synchronised electric shocks are delivered directly to the heart to restore a normal, regular heart rhythm.