Electrocardiographic Studies in Shall Sheep

DOI: 10.5152/actavet.2019.19018 The use of sheep in experimental animal models has increased recently. In the present study, we investigated normal electrocardiogram (ECG) parameters of clinically healthy Shall sheep. The animals were divided into two gender and age groups. Electrocardiograms were recorded on a base-apex lead, using limb lead I for at least 2 minutes. The heart rate range was 71–166 beats/min, with an average and standard deviation of 112.47±29.36. Statistical tests did not reveal any significant differences between two genders and ECG parameters. On the other hand, there was a significant difference between different age groups in the heart rate (p<0.001), P duration (p=0.030), QRS duration (p=0.005), and the P–R interval (p=0.005), Q–T interval (p<0.001), and R–R interval (p<0.001). Sheep with sinus arrhythmias had a significantly lower mean heart rate than sheep with normal rhythm (p=0.007). Furthermore, an analysis indicated that there was a significant difference between the age groups and the cardiac dysrhythmias (p<0.01). The results of this study can be used as a reference in studies on the Shall sheep breed. Cite this article as: Mirabad, M., Rezakhani, A., 2019. Electrocardiographic Studies in Shall Sheep. Acta Vet Eurasia 45, 96-100.