Effect of atropine-dobutamine stress test on left ventricular echocardiographic parameters in untrained warmblood horses

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of combined atropine low‐dose dobutamine stress test on left ventricular parameters in adult warmblood horses, to establish a potential protocol for pharmacological stress echocardiography. Seven healthy untrained warmblood horses aged 9 to 22 years were used. Heart rate (HR) and left ventricular B‐ and M‐mode dimensions were recorded at baseline and during stress testing with 35 μg/kg atropine IV followed by incremental dobutamine infusion of 2 to 6 μg/kg/min. HR increased significantly (P