Validation of a heart-rate monitor for measuring a stress response in dairy cows

Abstract

. 1994. Validation of a heart-rate monitor for measuring a stress response in dairy cows.Can. J. Anim. Sci.,.In three experiments, a commercial non-invasive heart-rate monitor, Polar@ Sport Tester (PST), was validated for use with dairy cows. First, l0 monitors were tested using a pulse generator, which produced pulses at levels between 30 and240 bpm. PST values and generated beats were highly correlated (r : 0.97) but with varying delay (5-55 s), depending on pulse-rate level.In a second experiment, 10 dairy cows were quietly standing or exercising on a treadmill while their heart rates were recorded by direct-wire electrocardiograph (ECG) as well as the PST. Correlations between ECG and PST values during standing (0.88) and exercising (0.72) were significant and differed between cows. During standing, inter-beat interval and PST standard deviations were significantly correlated (R." : 0.76), as were their coefficients of variation (R,o : 0.89).The third experiment showed that the heart rate of 10 dairy cows increased rapidly immediately after an individual was isolated from the herd. Cows showed no obvious signs of being hampered by the equipment during the l-h trials.Change in heart rate may be a relevant parameter for studying an animal's response to a stressor. As heart-rate variability is thought to serve as an important mechanism for adaptability in humans, this aspect needs further attention in farm animals. The PST is suitable for measuring both heart rate and heart-rate variability in dairy cows.Key words: Heart rate, dairy cows, stress, treadmill

Physiological and behavioural changes in Holstein calves during and after dehorning or castration

“…Normal heart rates in unstressed beef cattle range from 70 to 90 bpm (Hopster and Blokhuis 1994). Stressors such as noise, branding, and electric shock have been shown to raise heart rates in cattle as much as 30 to 40 bpm over baseline levels (Lefcourt et al 1986;Lay et al 1992;Waynert et al 1999).…”

“…Heart rate in cattle has been shown to be raised by stressful events (Lay et al 1992;Hopster and Blokhuis 1994;Waynert et al 1999) and therefore can possibly be used as a measure of relative stress and an indicator of the severity of a management procedure. Normal heart rates in unstressed beef cattle range from 70 to 90 bpm (Hopster and Blokhuis 1994).…”

Haloperidol and Azaperone in Drive-net Captured Southern Chamois (Rupicapra pyrenaica)

“…Heart rate is considered an objective way of assessing the status of the autonomic nervous system when confronted with stressors (Hopster and Blokhuis, 1994). Nevertheless, it can be influenced by numerous factors, with some authors indicating its physiologic variability as a better stress indicator than heart rate itself (Porges, 1985).…”

Polar Sport Tester for Cattle Heart Rate Measurements

“…Recently all of those began to be replaced with electronic heart rate monitors which measure electrical pulses of the heart, and which were widely tested during exercise in horses. Since it boosted better performance and training techniques in equine sports, practical applicability was also investigated in other farm and wild animals, like cows, pigs and reindeers (Hopster & Blokhuis, 1994;Seo et al, 1998;Eloranta et al, 2002). For measuring the heart rate special apparatuses, used by top sportsman during training, were tested.…”

“…This equipment became recommended and highly advocated tool in illness, disease, or stress diagnostics. Because of accuracy of measurements with Polar Sport Tester (best accuracy in comparison with ECG) (Macfarlane et al, 1989;Hopster & Blokhuis, 1994;Lefcourt et al, 1999) the said finding was taken into account to a greater extent in the analysis of the data of our test. moving about or tied.…”