When traditional treatments for atrial fibrillation (AF) fail, a new procedure offered by cardiologists at the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine, in Ithaca—called transvenous electrical cardioversion (TVEC)— provides an alternative way to reset the quivering heart of a horse back to its normal heartbeat.

“I’m very excited to be able to offer this procedure,” said Bruce Kornreich, DVM, PhD, Dipl. ACVIM, associate director of the Feline Health Center and staff cardiologist. “AF is a very common condition in horses that we’re often asked to diagnose and treat. This is another tool in our toolbox to convert these patients back to a normal heart rhythm.”

The Cornell University Equine Hospital offered TVEC, which involves placing electrodes in the heart to reset its rhythm with an electric shock, until about five years ago when the hospital could no longer purchase catheters needed for the procedure. Recently, the catheters came back onto the market.

At around the same time, Cornell veterinary students examined On-Star, a 19-year-old mare from the Cornell Equine Park teaching herd. “The students picked up the arrhythmia, and we diagnosed it as AF,” said Gillian Perkins, DVM, Dipl. ACVIM, medical director of the Equine and Nemo Farm Animal Hospitals, who coordinated the procedure