Abstract
The aim of this study was to create a fetal heart rate (FHR) reference curve for singleton bovine fetuses in the first trimester of gestation and to determine its possible relationship with the outcome of pregnancy. Forty-eight Holstein-Friesian cows with one fetus and five cows with twins were used. Fetal heart beatings were recorded on videotape during transrectal scanning with a 5 and/or 7.5 MHz linear array transducer on a weekly basis between Days 40 and 95 of gestation. FHR was calculated by averaging the results of five counts of the same record by the same observer. For singleton pregnancies, a reference curve was created using the mean, the standard deviation (SD) and the 5th and 95th percentiles. The FHR increased from Days 40-46 (173 beats/min) to Days 61-67 (183 beats/min). After a peak, the FHR decreased slowly until Days 89-95 (175 beats/min), while the SD increased. There was no significant difference between singleton and twin fetuses. in the aborted and lost fetuses in twin gestation due to fetal reduction, both bradycardia and tachycardia were detected compared to the singleton pregnancy reference curve.
Highlights
Ultrasonography has been widely used for pregnancy diagnosis in cattle, but it makes it possible to determine the viability of the embryo/fetus by checking the heartbeat or measuring the fetal heart rate (FHR) (Curran, 2000)
These results suggest that the FHR might be a diagnostic tool to predict fetal loss in cattle
Transrectal ultrasonography with a 5.0 and/or a 7.5 MHz transducer appeared to be a suitable method for quantifying the FHR between Days 40 and 95 of gestation
Summary
Ultrasonography has been widely used for pregnancy diagnosis in cattle, but it makes it possible to determine the viability of the embryo/fetus by checking the heartbeat or measuring the fetal heart rate (FHR) (Curran, 2000). The FHR decreased progressively in a quadratic pattern from Day 31 (182 beats/min) to Day 80 (156 beats/min), while in the cows it changed in an approximately stable or intermittent range (Kheradmand et al, 2005). In heifers that were treated with the anti-progesterone aglepristone twice at Days 47 and 48 of gestation, a non-significant drop in FHR around 8 h before fetal death was detected in four of five treated animals (Breukelman et al, 2005). These results suggest that the FHR might be a diagnostic tool to predict fetal loss in cattle
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