Heart help to keep rare primates in prime shape

Hospital donates cardiac kit to zoo apes

SURPLUS heart health machines from George Eliot Hospital have been donated to Twycross Zoo to help save the lives of endangered great apes.

The cardiac care equipment will be used by animal experts in ongoing research into primate heart disease.

A total of 14 electrocardiograms have been given after the hospital received upgraded machines. The equipment was used by medics at the Eliot to record the electric rhythm of patients’ hearts.

They will perform the same function at the zoo and be part of the centre’s global studies of cardiac health conditions in endangered chimpanzees, orangutans, gorillas and bonobos.

Great apes share more than 90% of their DNA with humans and have the same cardiac system. Heart disease is often reported as a significant cause of death among captive great apes, and Twycross Zoo is leading an expansive Ape Heart Project consisting of an international team of vets, cardiologists and researchers who are working hard to better understand the disease.

Dr Sharon Redrobe, chief executive of Twycross Zoo and director of Ape Heart Project, said: “We are delighted to receive such a generous donation of cardiac equipment from the George Eliot Hospital.

“These machines will be used around the world to screen and assess apes that could be at risk of heart disease. They will provide invaluable data for our research to better understand how we can help prevent the onset of cardiac problems, and their diagnostic capabilities will undoubtedly help to save the lives of great apes.”

Kay Farmer, general manager at the George Eliot Hospital NHS Trust, said: “The cardio respiratory unit at the George Eliot Hospital NHS Trust is pleased to donate its decommissioned ECG equipment to Twycross Zoo in order to support their worldwide study on the great apes. We feel that the machinery will be of great benefit to their conservation work.”