Zoo gorilla helps human heart research A gorilla at Paignton Zoo
is helping with research into human heart disease. Vets scanned
western lowland gorilla Kumbuka’s heart as part of a global
project to find out more about this issue in great apes.
Ghislaine Sayers, Head of Veterinary Services at Paignton Zoo,
said: “We had to do a routine health check on Kumbuka, so we
arranged to do the ultra-sound at the same time.” The Great Ape
Heart Project is an international initiative to collect data on
ape hearts. “There are two main aims," says Ghislaine: "To work
out what is normal for an ape heart and to help us detect any
cardiac problems in our apes early on." The hearts of humans and
great apes are very much alike – however, subtle differences
between them could help doctors understand how the human heart
may have evolved. The heart health statistics for zoo apes are
similar to those of humans. A third of gorillas that died in US
zoos were found to have some form of heart disease. The British
Heart Foundation est