Influence of body position on the measurement of electrocardiographic waves in healthy dogs

Abstract

The agreement between the electrocardiographic waves measured from tracings recorded in right lateral recumbency and several other unusual body positions was assessed. Electrocardiograms were recorded in 160 healthy dogs in right lateral, left lateral, dorsal and sternal recumbencies, as well as in standing position. Considering the right lateral recordings as the gold standard, the lowest biases for the majority of ECG parameters were calculated from left lateral recordings, whereas the highest biases were documented from dorsal and standing positions. For the mean electrical axis, the dorsal recumbency produced the lowest bias, while the greatest one was identified in sternal position. An analysis of variance indicated differences when the means of P wave duration and amplitude, duration of QRS and QT, and mean electrical axis obtained in unusual positions were compared with right lateral. In conclusion, left lateral recumbency produced the most similar measurements as compared to right lateral, but the wide limits of agreement preclude the use and interpretation of these positions interchangeably.