REFERENCES 1. What Are the Signs and Symptoms of Heart Disease? - NHLBI, NIH. Available at: http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/hdw/signs. (Accessed: 9th May 2016); 2. Lammey, M. L., Lee, D. R., Ely, J. J. & Sleeper, M. M. Sudden cardiac death in 13 captive chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes). J. Med. Primatol. 37 Suppl 1, 39–43 (2008); 3. Great Ape Heart Project. The Great Ape Heart Project 2012 White Paper: A Collaboration to Understand Heart Disease , Reduce Mortality and Improve Cardiac Health in all Four Great Ape Taxa. (2012); 4. Varki, N. et al. Heart disease is common in humans and chimpanzees, but is caused by different pathological processes. Evol. Appl. 2, 101–112 (2009).; 5. Risk Factors for Heart Disease - British Heart Foundation. Available at: https://www.bhf.org.uk/heart-health/risk-factors. (Accessed: 9th May 2016)

For more information please visit: http://www.twycrosszoo.org/ape-heart-project.aspx or email: heartproject@twycrosszoo.org

Many of our closest relatives are dying of a broken heart. But zoo keepers the world over are left scratching their heads as to why this is. Our great ape cousins (gorillas, chimpanzees, orangutans and bonobos) do not drink alcohol or smoke cigarettes, nor do they spend their weekends eating takeaways or fried breakfasts. So why is it that they too, like us, are so prone to heart disease?

A dedicated team of scientists, vets and pathologists at the University of Nottingham and Twycross Zoo are working hard to get to the heart of the matter. They’re finding that it’s not just ‘lifestyle’ that sets us apart from great apes when it comes to heart disease (see Table 1). Read more about some of the fascinating work they do below.

What becomes of a broken (ape) heart? V. Strong, S. Redrobe, K. Baiker, M. Martin, M. Cobb & K. White

Table 1: Comparison of the main features of cardiovascular disease in

humans and non-human great apes

HUMANS GREAT APES

CLINICAL SIGNS

& SYMPTOMS

Shortness of breath,

chest pain, fainting &

dizziness, swollen limbs1

Sudden (unexpected) death2

DIAGNOSIS Echocardiography, ECG,

blood pressure; tried and

tested, good knowledge

of what is ‘normal’

Easily performed in

awake patient

Limited understanding of

how to extrapolate tests to

apes/what is normal vs.

abnormal3

(Usually*) requires

anaesthesia of patient

TREATMENT Lots of evidence relating

to drug doses, effects,

side effects

Patients can be closely

monitored and symptoms

managed

No therapeutics

studies/clinical trials; no

published data3

Limited feasibility of patient

monitoring

MOST

COMMON

PATHOLOGY

Atherosclerotic coronary

artery disease4

(Idiopathic) myocardial

fibrosis2,4

CAUSES Diet, smoking, obesity,

inactivity, family history,

concurrent disease (e.g.

diabetes)5

Unknown

*Some assessment of the heart is possible without the need for

sedation/anaesthesia; see below (‘heart screening’)

PREVENTION IS BETTER THAN CURE

Study findings to date are offering hints and clues as to the pathophysiology of this deadly disease. Further work investigating the following possible causes is ongoing:

• Viruses • Genetics • Diet

Identifying the cause(s) will help to reduce (or even prevent) heart disease related deaths.

HEART SCREENING

Great apes at zoos across Europe undergo heart assessments under anaesthesia as part of routine health checks. These assessments include an electrocardiogram (ECG) and a heart ultrasound or echocardiogram (‘echo’).

Some chimpanzees and gorillas at Twycross Zoo are even trained to have their heart rate and rhythm recorded without the need for an anaesthetic.

IMAGES: top left – anaesthetised chimpanzee undergoing ECG assessment; bottom left – example image from a chimpanzee ’echo’; top right - chimpanzee training for awake ECG assessment; bottom right - interactive sign at Twycross Zoo explaining the work they do

SO WHAT DOES BECOME OF THE BROKEN HEARTS?

1. Basic post-mortem examination and sampling by zoo vet/pathologist as

part of complete necropsy

2. Heart undergoes detailed

examination at University of Nottingham

3. Report issued to zoo and data entered into database