Heart disease is a serious health concern in the United States, and it’s not just affecting humans. Apes share many similarities with humans, including heart structure and DNA. In fact, the Bonobo species of Chimpanzees are almost identical to humans, with a 98% match to human DNA. They also experience similar symptoms of heart disease.
Symptoms of heart disease include chest pains, poor blood supply to extremities, coughing, fatigue, fast/uneven heartbeat, and shortness of breath.
In September 2022, the Columbus Zoo teamed up with the Great Ape Heart Project to implant Medtronic Reveal LINQ Insertable Cardiac Monitors in six apes, including two Bonobos, two Gorillas, and two Orangutans. These miniature devices are smaller than a AAA battery and can monitor heart rate, skin temperature, activity, and posture.
The Great Ape Heart Project is located at the Detroit Zoological Society, home to many different ape species. By studying the heart health of these animals, researchers hope to better understand heart disease in humans and apes and develop new treatments to improve the health and well-being of all creatures.
The GAHP (The Great Ape Heart Project) is a group of dedicated and coordinated subject matter experts that provide a network of clinical, pathologic, and research strategies to aid in the understanding and treating of cardiac disease in all the ape species, with the ultimate goal of reducing cardiovascular-related mortalities and improving the health and welfare of great apes in managed care. (https://greatapeheartproject.org)
Other animals that received the Medtronic Reveal LINQ Insertable Cardiac Monitors include bears, maned wolves, oryx, and jaguars.
Tim Laske, Vice President of Research and Business Development for the Cardiac Ablation Solutions business at Medtronic has been studying the physiology of black and brown bears since 1999. These studies have given us insight into hibernation and heart rates. During the course of the studies, researchers have found that the heart rhythm of a hibernating bear is not what we previously believed.
Into the Bears Lair, an article written by Amie Durenberger a science journalist in Minneapolis, Minnesota who accompanied a group of researchers with Tim Laske observed.
“These bears don’t simply have a slow heart rate in the winter. Rather, they have a few fast beats during inspiration [inhaling] and then rest the heart between breaths—a respiratory sinus arrhythmia,” Laske explains. “The fast beats maintain blood flow to the brain and organs, and presumably provide a level of exercise for the cardiac muscle.”
Data collected during both of these projects open up a wide variety of doors to break through and provides us with a better understanding of animals. It also opens our eyes to how similar they are to humans both physically and emotionally.
Resources:
https://news.medtronic.com/newsroom-Medtronic-devices-monitor-heart-disease-in-great-apes
https://www.columbuszoo.org/blog/columbus-zoo-partners-great-ape-heart-project-enhance-cardiac-care
https://news.medtronic.com/How-healthcare-technology-is-changing-wildlife-conservation
https://greatapeheartproject.org/about/aboutgahp/ https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/mcvmagazine/issues/2020/jan-feb/bears.html