Mystery of Rising Ape Heart Disease

April 8, 2008— -- It'd probably be a lot easier if Kwame was a little kid at the doctor's office and you could maybe talk him into letting doctors put a needle in his arm. But Kwame is no little kid. He's a 170-pound male adolescent gorilla and, eventually, may be a prime candidate for heart disease.

This is a relatively recent discovery — heart disease is killing adult male apes in zoos around the U.S. Male gorillas in their 20s and 30s are getting sick and, in some cases, suddenly dying of various heart ailments.

Veterinarians and zookeepers are trying to understand how to protect the remaining animals from a similar fate.

At the Cleveland Zoo, two males recently underwent risky anesthesia for an exam that showed heart disease. Medication was started immediately.

Suzann Murray is head of animal health at Washington's National Zoo, where Kwame is a star attraction. According to Murray, researchers are beginning to learn that gorilla hearts may be even better and stronger than human hearts. But no one knows yet what causes male gorilla heart disease or whether it's as common in the wild as in captivity.

For humans, a blood test called BNP is used to diagnose heart disease. But could it also mark cardiac disease in gorillas? So far, preliminary tests show it's an excellent indicator of cardiac disease.

If the great apes can be trained to get this sample done routinely, experts will be able to diagnose cardiac disease before they show symptoms.

But how many gorillas are willing to have a needle jabbed in their arms? Murray uses a gentle approach with ample verbal warning.

"I usually say, 'Touching,' I touch his arm, I look for a vein, I then show him a needle and say, 'Getting ready to poke,'" she said.

But Kwame's still not quite ready for it because trust takes time, even though the clock is ticking — like that stronger-than-human heart in Kwame's gorilla chest.