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Electrocardiographs Evaluation of Potassium Deficiency in Young Swine

Illinois Agricultural Experiment Station, Urbana

Abstract

Three experiments, each involving a litter of eight pigs 14 or 21 days of age, were conducted to evaluate the use of electrocardiograms (ECG) to detect early development of potassium deficiency. The deficient animals received a diet containing 0.007% potassium, while the control animals received the same diet plus 0.25% supplemental potassium as potassium carbonate. ECG's were recorded twice weekly on tranquilized pigs.

Pigs receiving the deficient diet showed ECG abnormalities by 2 weeks. The abnormalities included reduced heart rate, increased wave intervals and deformation of the QRS complex. Pigs fed the adequate diet in an amount equal to the voluntary intake of pigs on the deficient diet also, but to a lesser extent, exhibited reduced heart rate. ECG's of the pigs receiving adequate diet ad libitum showed very little change over the experimental period of 4 weeks.