Validation of an Equine Smart Textile System for Heart Rate Variability: A Preliminary Study

SIMPLE SUMMARY: Electrocardiography and heart rate variability allow for greater understanding of equine cardiovascular health and fitness. Devices required to obtain these data are typically cumbersome, limiting their use to clinicians. The objective of this study was to validate a user-friendly smart textile system against the gold-standard telemetric device. Electrocardiograms (ECGs) were obtained simultaneously using both devices in horses at rest and undergoing submaximal exercise. We did not observe any differences in metrics of heart rate or heart rate variability, indicating that the smart textile system is a reliable alternative device for ECG monitoring of horses during rest and submaximal exercise. ABSTRACT: Electrocardiograms (ECGs), and associated heart rate (HR) and heart rate variability (HRV) measurements, are essential in assessing equine cardiovascular health and fitness. Smart textiles have gained popularity, but limited validation work has been conducted. Therefore, the objective of this study was to compare HR and HRV data obtained using a smart textile system (Myant) to the gold-standard telemetric device (Televet). Simultaneous ECGs were obtained using both systems in seven horses at rest and during a submaximal exercise test. Bland–Altman tests were used to assess agreement between the two devices. Strong to perfect correlations without significant differences between the two devices were observed for all metrics assessed. During exercise, mean biases of 0.31 bpm (95% limits of agreement: −1.99 to 2.61) for HR, 1.43 ms (−11.48 to 14.33) for standard deviation of R-R intervals (SDRR), and 0.04 (−2.30 to 2.38) for the HRV triangular index (TI) were observed. A very strong correlation was found between the two devices for HR (r = 0.9993, p < 0.0001) and for HRV parameters (SDRR r = 0.8765, p < 0.0001; TI r = 0.8712, p < 0.0001). This study demonstrates that a smart textile system is reliable for assessment of HR and HRV of horses at rest and during submaximal exercise.