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. 2023 Mar;85(3):e23471.
doi: 10.1002/ajp.23471. Epub 2023 Jan 31.

Surgical placement of implantable cardiac loop recorders in great apes

Ilana Kutinsky  1 , Ann Duncan  2 , Marietta D Danforth  3   4 , Suzan Murray  5 , Julie Napier  6 , Stephanie McCain  7 , Hayley W Murphy  3   4
Affiliations

Surgical placement of implantable cardiac loop recorders in great apes

Ilana Kutinsky et al. Am J Primatol. 2023 Mar.

Abstract

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in zoologically managed adult great apes, accounting for 29%-77% of adult deaths in the North American population depending on the species. In an effort to better understand the underlying causes of heart disease, implantable loop recorders (ILRs) have been used in some cases to monitor great apes with suspected or known cases of arrhythmia. This is a 10-year review of the Great Ape Heart Project's experience of implanting 21 ILRs in 7 gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla; 9 total ILR devices), 5 chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes, 11 total ILR devices), and 1 orangutan (Pongo abelii, 1 ILR device) in an effort to develop effective methods for surgical implantation and remote collection of the data for analysis.

Keywords: Medtronic; arrhythmia; cardiovascular disease; electrocardiography (ECG); great apes.

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References

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