Zoo Atlanta houses the largest gorilla collection in the United States with 22 gorillas, of which 18 individuals are trained for voluntary cardiac ultrasounds. Go behind-the-scenes with us as keepers and our volunteer cardiac sonographer train for this procedure. Cardiac ultrasound training is made possible through partnership with sonographers from Children's Healthcare of Atlanta.

Cardiac exam forms are submitted to the international database of The Great Ape Heart Project. Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a leading cause of mortality among great apes living in zoological settings. The Great Ape Heart Project, headquartered at Zoo Atlanta, seeks to understand, diagnose, and treat cardiac disease across all four non-human great ape taxa (gorillas, orangutans, chimpanzees and bonobos).

This video is intended as a training tool for other institutions; please use the time stamp links for referencing specific information.

39s -- Zoo Atlanta training program for awake cardiac ultrasounds    • Gorilla Cardiac Ultrasound Training a...  

4:26 -- How Zoo Atlanta collects cardiac exam information    • Gorilla Cardiac Ultrasound Training a...  

5:19 -- How to submit exams to the Great Ape Heart Project    • Gorilla Cardiac Ultrasound Training a...  

7:13 -- Voluntary cardiac ultrasound from start to finish    • Gorilla Cardiac Ultrasound Training a...  

Find out more about the Great Ape Heart Project at http://www.zooatlanta.org/great_ape_h... and http://greatapeheartproject.org/.