LOUISVILLE (WHAS11) -- At the Louisville Zoo it was time for a check-up for one of the zoo's gorillas.
And they had some help from doctors at Norton Heart & Vascular Institute.
Dr. Joseph Lash worked with one of the zoo's veterinarians to check out Demba, the zoo's second oldest female gorilla. The zoo said she had an infection on a heart valve.
Many of the things they can do are similar to what can be done in humans.
“The similarities are very much anatomically alike, there are obviously some size differences that we take into account. in terms of the structure of the heart, the general anatomy, it's very similar structure to humans,” Dr. Joseph Lash, a Norton cardiologist, said.
Some of the issues they've seen in the primates are developing heart failure and heart muscle weakness.
The partnership between Norton and the Louisville Zoo began 15 years ago.