Y. KOSTOV and V. ALEXANDROVA
University of Forestry, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, BG-1756 Sofia, Bulgaria
KOSTOV, Y. and V. ALEXANDROVA, 2003. Electrocardiographic diagnostics of chronic hypokinetic stress of sows, raised under industrial technology. Bulg. J. Agric. Sci., 9: 729–734
Sows reared in individual pens on industrial farms were tested by means of electrocardiographic (ECG) method. Essential electrocardiographic alterations were detected depending on the technological regime and duration of stay in individual pens. Those alterations were expressed in decrease of R-wave amplitude and occurrence of pathological Q-wave, which was indicative of the degree of morphological heart injuries. Other changes in ECG were established as well. The acquired electrocardiographic changes persisted for months and years just like cardiac infarction in humans. Chronic hypokinetic stress affected sows both stress-susceptible and stress-resistant to halothane anesthesia.