Myocardial Infarction (Atherosclerotic Coronary Thrombosis)

One of the commonest causes of death in humans is the classic “heart attack”, which is caused by blockade of a major coronary blood vessel supplying oxygen to the heart muscle. The usual cause is partial blockage of the coronary blood vessel by an atherosclerotic plaque, frequently complicated by plaque rupture and/or local thrombosis. While great apes can develop atherosclerotic vascular disease, symptomatic atherosclerotic coronary thrombosis appears to be almost non-existent. This is somewhat surprising given that chimpanzees generally have higher blood cholesterol levels than humans. Meanwhile, chimpanzees and other "great apes" suffer from a interstitial myocardial fibrosis that is uncommon in humans.