When I was a young distance runner I always suspected that the football players were closer to the apes. Confirmation at last!
think the great example here is varied intensity keeps a heart heathy, if you are a sloth but eventually walk a little its not enough varied intensity is best for an all around healthy heart!
Plasticity, a great term for our cardiovascular system. When we exercise, that plasticity allows our blood vessels to expand to greater girths, allowing blood to flow more freely to organs needing replenishing.and back to the heart after the organs keep needing to discard refuse.
That plasticity allows the vessels to swell and kick deposits off and into the blood stream to be burned or discarded, not to act as blockages leading to heart ailments. After exercising, they reduce in girth and the heart goes for a rest.
In my strenuous daily exercising, my heart has adjusted over the years so that it takes really taxing tasks for me to sweat or my blood pressure to rise more than 15 points. Staying usually around 115-120 Syst and 69-77 Dyst.
HTG2U.
I understand why so many comments are about the no-female aspect of this study, point taken...but stand down, you’re all being just as predictable as the study is. For one thing it’s best to narrow a study and not be comparing apples and oranges.
2
Sure, but if you’re an apple it gets pretty old when the majority of studies are about oranges.
4
"the hearts of apes and men"
C'mon, NYT. It's 2019. Language matters. You know that.
Stop using "men" as a synonym for "humans." And to all you dinosaurs who think it doesn't matter: If it doesn't matter, then why don't we also use "women" as a synonym for "humans"?
4
@Doro Wynant
They studied males; XY. Did you read the article?
4
@Quadriped Maybe that's the problem: they only studied half the population.
1
My dad lived to 105 & 7 months. Never had a major disease. Healthy heart always. Stubborn as all hell. Ate Italian all his life, mostly fresh wholesome stuff, I mean everything stuff. Meats, cheeses, cakes, beer every dinner. Wine on Sundays. Soda and soft drinks as well. In his old old age ate store bought gross choc chip cookies almost every day and a nip of whiskey at night. Never exercised, never looked at a gym. But worked really hard all his life. Was a boxer in his youth. Did one handed pull-ups. Had a large family, grandkids up to one great great grandkid. Married for 70 years. Head of the family in his mind till the last minute.
7
Neanderthals were faster and much stronger than homo sapiens with the adrenaline fight flight in both. Their bones and muscle mass were bigger thicker. However the Neanderthals' brain size was smaller in comparison and the women were much smaller than men. This change among Homo sapiens led to our higher intelligence and agricultural development , settling down and greater procreation.
How about a study of the sloth heart? or of some hibernating species?
1
Get those toddlers (and even older children) out of those giant strollers and out running about in the yards, parks and playgrounds.
13
@Charlene Rasmussen - Yes! and don't give them cell phones at that age either.
3
If for no other reason, exercise, be it walking; running; weight lifting as examples, will improve your health. Inactivity does nothing for us.
3
We all wanted to learn more from these studies.
It looks like as always not too little of good exercise or not too much .... the right balance for each and everyone differs .
I would like to know more , very interesting!
What is most interesting is the comparison of subsistence farmers hearts, and how we can apply that knowledge to other occupations and what it means to work a days labor maybe on a construction site or cleaning houses.
Subsistence farming may be a healthy lifestyle but does it not involve quite a bit of manual labor too? We know that indigenous cultures had much more pleasure time than modern cultures. Maybe farming work wasn't so bad. Or a job that gets your hands dirty literally, should get much more respect than is the case.
6
@Alexia
You'd think a manual job that puts your heart and muscles in good shape would lead to a longer life. Not the case, at all. Those that are living the longest are those in sedentary jobs, like lawyers, teachers, accountants. But it's probably not the work. The type of people doing manual work tend to have worse health habits, live in less desirable conditions, and often lack insurance. It's a conundrum, for sure. [https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1567252/Why-accountants-live-longer-than-builders.html]
1
Good article. All that being said, I still want a non-physical job where I sit around at a desk, and have weekends to sit around as well, like everyone else.
Humans are unique in that you can still be stressed mentally, even when you're not physically. And mental health, chronic anxiety and stress does take a toll on physiology. Experiencing both at the same time would exhaust a person, especially one filled with resentment for witnessing those that make more money with virtually no physical toll or ailments and doesn't have to spend all of their free time waiting for their bodies to recover like they do.
4
We probably also were not meant to sit except while cooking and eating. Chairs were originally designed for regal or king and queen uses. Look at ancient Egypt and African artifacts. Many workers who have to stand in their jobs are healthier. Standing is also part of walking.
5
"That slight aping of the hearts of the football players and the sedentary young men was coupled with everyday blood pressures that, while still within the normal range, were higher than those of the runners and farmers."
Humans are apes.
4
@Adrienne No, just football players and couch potatoes.
We *are* primates. We *are* apes.
Gorillas and chimpanzees are *not* our "erstwhile" relatives.
Jeeze.
12
Once again;
"(Only males were included in this study, although the researchers would like to study women and female primates in the future.)"
14
@Roxanne it’s outrageous that such studies are still accorded respect.
3
@Roxanne
That stood out to me also. Pretty telling, isn't it?
3
Obesity is a major problem in this country. Just go to any amusement park and take a look. Go to a baseball, football, basketball, hockey game and just look at all the obese people including many under the age of 10. Humans were designed to do physical work, walk or run and not just lift thier hand to their mouths. Imagine the reduction in health care costs if this message got through to people.
27
The comments are mostly irrelevant. Our ancestors worked hard and died young. People look for everything except the big ones. Obesity! Diabetes ( related to obesity)! Genetics-(cholesterol)! Hypertension! Modify these factors with appropriate meds and mild- moderate exercise and humans will continue to live longer
3
@Philip Maybe life was short in the 14th century, but by the 18th century people were living well into their 90's, as evidenced by any old New England cemetery.
So since when were we not supposed to live so long? I'd like some insight on this blanket statement that people throw around, but seems flawed. As I see it humans in the fairly recent past lived long too, but were much more susceptible to disease, farm accidents, etc.
This article discusses observed differences between human and primate hearts.
Humans are primates.
2
@Alan R Brock Wrong interpretation of the article, Alan. It makes clear that we are all primates, with differences between human and chimp hearts.
2
@John Holland
from the article: "although primates, unlike us, do not seem to experience heart problems from such hypertension"
I was not interpreting anything.
1
@John Holland
Upon reflection I think you are correct. I did misinterpret. The article was referring to primates other than us humans. Apologies, John.
2
I see a lot of commentators criticising the fact that women were not included
It’s 2019 people!
Have you heard?
There is zero difference between men and women!
7
@John - Have you heard? Women who experience heart attacks have different symptoms then men do. There is a big difference between men and women.
11
@John - They have different sexual hormones.
1
Looking at the published paper, the abstract refers to a study of the human heart when it should specify male human heart. It’s an interesting study and I like the way they used the data from animals health checks to learn about this. I would expect, now that the methods have been developed for this study, that the same levels of resources are given to a study of hearts of female primates. That would advance the scientific knowledge and be in the interests of society. It would also be good to look at humans in other cultures as commentators here suggest.
14
The compromise might be a combination. We have evidence that intervals ( sudden quick bursts of speed until breathless) at various times during a longer moderate sustained run. I do 45 minutes and do 2 mins or so of quick intervals every 5 mins. 3X a week.
This seems to be keeping me in good cardio health.BP 120/70, pulse 60 and no shortness of breath except at end of the intervals. I am 81.
30
@RichardHead Bravo
1
@RichardHead I'm 82 (female) and now live in France without a car, climb 23 steps up to my apartment and walk all the time--including15-20 minutes to the nearest train and bus depot when I want to travel around. Passed a US stress-test in March with no problem - although I confess that I do take a BP and a heart med (Rheumatic fever and A-fib). You couldn't PAY me enough to 'run' as I like my flexible and uncomplaining joints but we both have found that moderate exercise as one ages makes a huge difference. (French women, on average, live 4 years longer than American gals--and they 'don't get fat!') : > D
23
@Voyageur
Keep it up !!
My mother is 95, walked all her life, never ill, no medication ever, no red meat, no sugar, never smoked, small glass of red wine now and then, still walking, and I expect her to live as long as she wants to !!
She is always, always positive, regardless whatever difficulties life presented.
Amazing lady, with a heart infused with love and kindness.
19
It's occurred to me ( and surely not a unique thought ) is nature evolved us into one giant sweat gland. Nothing on land can outrun a human being. That has to account for something in the evolution of things.
Cheetahs
1
@KCSM Endurance, not speed.
1
@Michael Carter Yes to both comments. Each one chooses it's prey. Percentage of winners indicate a strategy in nature.
While not a cardiologist I have done research and have to point out a glaring methodological flaw in this study. It is unimaginable that the studies on the gorillas and chimps were done under the same conditions as those done on the humans i.e. very seriously doubt that our fellow primates would sit/lie still to have their hearts studied unless they were anesthetized, which would obviously be necessary to carry out any of the procedures done on them. In addition the primate subjects studied were captives and likely do not have the same demands put on their hearts as those in the wild. The study cited does not detail the methods used by the researchers but it seems doubtful that the human subjects were anesthetized as the primates must have been, though perhaps the sedentary humans are comparable to the captive primates.
5
@sleepdoc Perhaps anesthesia would affect the resting heart rate and blood pressure, but its highly unlikely that any sedative would any quantifiable effect on the shape of the heart or the relative thickness of the heart muscle. As such, one would have to question the value of the observation.
Similarly, it is unlikely that a primate in the wild would show physiological characteristics more closely related to humans than do their captive cousins, so again, I'm not sure what difference it makes, for the purpose of this study, that only captive primates were studied.
Lastly, it's a New York Times article, not a New England Journal of Medicine entry... I hardly think that one expects a deep dive into the methodology on these pages. in short, give the authors of the study a bit more credit, would you?
4
@AMDG "Unlikely" does not mean untrue or impossible. Good research generates 2 more questions for every one it answers. Also reproducibility is a big problem in all types of research, most often due to poor funding to repeat studies. And I followed the link to the cited study and did not find a detailed description of the methodology. Finally, was not trying to discredit the researchers but offering what I think was constructive criticism. Perhaps they will read the comments and consider doing and reported their next experiments a bit differently.
4
I used to be a serious runner (incl. 11 marathons) and used to be injured all the time. Now I am a serious walker with 0 injuries. Thus, I am not so sure that we were born to run.
22
@PaulN
Likewise (except only 8 marathons), but I think our experiences were personal, and there are doubtless thousands of aging, able runners who might disagree. To each, his own. Walk on! :)
2
Good grief, really?????!!! Males only. AGAIN?!?!?!?
60
@Molly As my friend Taylor says,..." you need to calm down.."
6
@Molly The tests on the ladies will come later.
@Molly
What if a man reacted that way every time we had another Susan B Komen event. Men would be upset constantly, but most arent...
1
For me the best thing for me to keep my heart healthy is to never smoke, give up the fatty proteins and have a echocardiogram and perhaps a stress test to let me know how my heart is performing.
2
@Tonjo
Way too many stress tests being performed on healthy people. Large percentage not indicated. Talk to your GP.
6
@Mickey I never had a stress test. However, my cardiologist recommended one since I was diagnosed with atrial fibrillation AKA irregular heart beat.
1
So, this study has no information or data for women?
26
@Collins Flannery Kinda self evident. Now go start a petition drive. Evil men at work.
4
@Collins Flannery Can you imagine anyone saying this research is about "human heart health" if the subjects were only female?
There may be heart differences important enough to exclude females from this study, but apparently not so important that we can't give females the same medical treatment as males and hope for the best.
9
To walk long distances and to contemplate the universe are the two most human activities. Sometimes they can even be done together :)
35
"although primates, unlike us, do not seem to experience heart problems from such hypertension"
We are primates, obviously.
"our erstwhile relatives"
The other primates have never stopped being our relatives, obviously.
5
Cue the predictable boring outrage that the study involves males only. Our female hearts are similar enough to male hearts (when compared to apes) to make this study interesting and relevant. Run and walk more, it’s what we were designed to do, male or female.
20
@Allison Our hunter gatherer ancestors did very different activities in their quests for food. The male (hunters) spent a lot of their time walking and running to find and catch prey and then had to walk sometimes long distances carrying said prey to get it back to their kinfolk. The females on the other hand spent their time digging for roots and gathering fruit, activities distinctly different from those done by males. So don't be so fast in opining that males and female human hearts are "similar enough". Findings in studies of this sort in females, both human and other hominids, may be quite different. This is not to say that running and walking are not important for cardiac health, just that the responses to it may be different between the sexes.
15
@Allison Thank You, you get it.
2
@Allison If similar enough, then why exclude females from the study?
4
I stopped reading when it said the study didn’t include women.
22
@Darl Chryst Apparently not the first time. I think they wanted to compare oranges to oranges.
1
If I were a chimp or gorilla and a "Dr. Shave" comes around i'd clamber up a tree pretty quickly too.
7
Heart disease is the #1 cause of death for women in America. If you are surprised, it’s not your fault. Publications and studies such as the one described here contribute to the false status of heart disease as a men’s issue.
If our Constitution protected women as equals to men, we could sue these organizations for contributing to bad health outcomes for women via public policy.
We need the Equal Rights Amendment first. That’s the 800 pound gorilla in the room. Then we can defund all these sexist and obsolete scientific studies.
53
@Cordelia Wow. Obsolete. Many of us learned something.
@Cordelia - Yes, it is the #1 cause of death for women, not just in America, but world wide. However, it is also the #1 cause of death for men also, and as a study in BMJ Journal puts it: "CHD mortality was higher in men than in women throughout adulthood, but the magnitude of the difference varied by age. Men-to-women CHD mortality rate ratios were 4–5 in middle age (30–64 years) and 2 thereafter (65–89 years). Stroke mortality was more similar between sexes, with men-to-women stroke mortality rate ratios of around 1.5–2 until old age." (https://gh.bmj.com/content/2/2/e000298) It does make some sense to give a certain amount of priority to studying how men are affected since they are still the ones most likely to lose their life to CHD while still in middle age by a significant margin.
2
@Cordelia
There are far more studies on womens health issues than men's health, yet most men never whine about it. If you doubt me just check Pubmed for yourself. If you arent familiar with it, ask someone for help.
3
I often think about how different our day-to-day lives are. In the past, we farmed, gathered, hunted. Cooked food outdoors. Washed clothes in a river, lake, stream. Sewed our own clothing. Etc.
Now we sit all day, push buttons to do much of our work for us, or else we are sitting alone in our SUVs en route to Dunkin Donuts for our daily jumbo frappuccino.
17
@Lisa - It's really rather difficult to generalize about life in the past. Different cultures had different lifestyles. Lifestyles also differed among the classes and between men and women.
Actually, it's rather tiresome to keep hearing people who just want to bash their fellow Americans and make generalizations about SUVs, Dunkin Donuts, and daily jumbo frappuccinos. Give it a rest.
5
Strangely, we’re all living longer, safer and healthier lives.
I exercise, cardio and strength train, 4 to 5 days a week for the last 15 years and still have high blood pressure. I am in my early 60s in great shape and feel better then I did in my 40s. Exercise only is not the answer to high BP.
10
@Dennis
Maybe by that age your heart had already undergone irreversible changes? Or maybe you have a genetic predisposition and without the lifestyle changes it would be even higher?
3
@Dennis How/what do you eat?
2
@Dennis
Maybe you're not doing enough. I've noticed physical changes occurring at about 40-50 miles a week of running (not jogging). My BP, which was already low, went even lower.
"only males were included in this study"
Classic. I'm tired of being marginalized in health studies as a woman.
"they would like to study females in the future"
Knowing the disparity between health studies on males and females, why not study females first and males second. Women are 50% of the population and have significantly less than 50% of health studies.
73
@Kelsea Perhaps, but in the U.S., women receive more health care funding than men, even when excluding pregnancy-related costs.
11
Perhaps they wouldn’t need as much health care funding if there were more studies done about women and preventive care? I am not a scientist but that just seems logical to me.
30
@Kelsea I know it's frustrating, so keep on them. The basic challenge is men run on a daily cycle and women on a monthly one, so you have to run experiments on women far longer to average out the natural variations. Researchers just aren't going to be patient unless the incentives are there.
3
I had my heart checked out by my cardiologist in May this year. He told me that for a male in his 70s I could not be in better shape heart-wise.
I eat a mostly vegetarian diet, do regular aerobic exercises, drink a 12 ounce beer, may be two but no more. I am not orthorexic.
I meditate regularly , breathe deeply when I do remember to, at least 10 breaths.
But most importantly my approach to life is that as long as I have enough money/income to meet my basic needs of life, as long as I am in reasonably good health the only other sources of stress are others, almost exclusively other humans.
I avoid these humans with a passion. I used to react to them. But once I learned to walk away from them my mental health has improved vastly. That in turn has had positive effects on my heart.
No charge if you do what I do.
142
@Indian Diner At 53 and in great health (and very much smilar habits), I am reaching the same conclusion you are recommending. Perfect timing to see your comment. It's just that I am worried that a divorce would make my children suffer for my own benefit.
1
@jake d. Your children will suffer more in a toxic household with tension between their parents than they would with happily separated parents and joint custody.
1
Gorillas and chimpanzees lead very different lifestyles. Gorillas rarely travel a kilometer to find food; they often keep it to 50 meters or so and choose to live in what are described as ‘salad bowls’. They are so large, and vegetarian, that they have to eat all day to get the nutrition they need. Chimpanzees often cover 10 kilometers in a day, whether to find food, establish boundaries, or wage war. Because they are smaller than gorillas and eat animals as well as vegetation, they do not have to spend all their time foraging for food. Homo sapiens is much more comparable to chimpanzees and bonobos than to gorillas.
35
@Sylvia Calabrese. I agree entirely with your comment. Spot on. It seems like the researchers in this instance chose to interpret the data based on their own preconceptions of what the findings meant and did not (seem to) consider other, more plausible explanations for the differences in hearts of primates versus humans.
4
@Sylvia Calabrese
But didn't the researchers find the gorillas and chimps with similar, hard-walled hearts?
If the general American population did not have to worry about getting emergency treatment, hopefully paid for via Medicare For All or some sort of publicly financed universal health care system, then the heart health of the population will soar exponentially, me predicts.
11
@Indian Diner
Doctors can't force people to live healthier lifestyles unfortunately. Now that we have few stay at home spouses cooking from scratch and an abundance of convenience options like delivery it's going to be hard to get everyone back on a reasonable diet.
3
@Indian Diner You really think people who eat/drink/exercise conscientiously now will all start binging on fast food, smoking, and leading a sedentary life when health care is free? I think most people's health habits are influenced by their genetic makeup, cultural/family background, education, emotional state, etc. Considering that fear of premature death doesn't seem to keep people from becoming obese, alcoholic, taking drugs, being sedentary, etc., I doubt fear of expense will.
8
@Indian Diner Why? The heart health of most Americans ( of whom over 50% are obese) is pretty much directly related to the obesity, poor diet choices, and lack of exercise. In short, Americans are fat and lazy, and heart disease loves that cohort.
Expanded medical care won't change that.
5
What about the effect of our thoughts and the mind? I meditate regularly but sometimes I do not. And on those days when I do my heart rate is substantially lower than on days when I do not.
60 to 65 bps vs the 72-76 when I do not meditate. A lower heart beat is an indication that the heart does not have to work as hard, therefore less wear and tear.
Good heart health results from a combination of low saturated fat diets, regular aerobic exercise and maintaining good mental health.
Meditate, breath deeply and dont sweat the small stuff.
You will be amazed at the results.
PS: avoid reading and watching negative stuff , whether in the New York Times, on Facebook or on Youtube.
24
@Indian Diner
Would you mind sharing your meditation practice? How long and how often?
Thanks!
@Indian Diner - Avoiding reading or watching negative stuff may--or may not--be good for one's physical health. In perilous times, however, it may not be at all good for the health of one's country. Too many people ignoring negative things that are happening leads to opportunities for those who would dominate through corruption, authoritarianism, and/or bigotry to get away with activities that can do great damage.
10
This article points very little to the importance of diets.
In my country of origin large sections of the population have had vegetarian diets with very little saturated fats used in the cooking. That they ate mostly vegetarian with little saturated fats had also to do with the fact that they could not afford anything else.
Until recently when the younger generation began eating red meat and poultry and increased its intake of sugars and refined flours such as all purpose wheat flours heart disease was almost unheard of in my family.
Not everybody of the previous generations exercised but they were strict vegetarians of the right kind. They did walk to the vegetable market and back. They could not even afford to buy bicycles.
37
@Indian Diner Refined flours/sugars raise blood sugar, which can lead to heart problems. But saturated fats are not problematic if the animals consumed have are not factory farmed (hence, have eaten plenty of greens). If saturated fats caused heart disease, traditional societies that eat mainly meat would have high rates of heart disease, but they don't. The things to worry about are high blood sugar, high blood pressure, exposure to toxins and pollution, sedentary lifestyle, etc. There are vegetarians eat a lot of refined carbs and sugar - they'd be better off replacing those things with pastured meat & dairy.
6
@Indian Diner
Yes! But they must have done more exercise than we do, I mean, just cooking a meal was more labor-intensive then.
Very good research on diet and heart disease is at nutritionfacts.org.
Put that together with this or any of these studies proving cardio is best for us and the recipe is clear: whole foods vegan diet supplemented by B12 and plenty of cardio exercise will keep our hearts healthy.
7
"Rapid remodeling"... always remember that. All my fitness can evaporate in an amazingly brief time.
39
"although the researchers would like to study women and female primates in the future.)" And why should I believe this ? why didn't they from day one?
Why does anyone fund or publish these all male subjects studies?
104
@joan yes. Agreed. Pretty egregious considering this new (sadly new) foment women’s rights awareness. Black lives matter, What about Women’s rights?
8
@joan Seems like not much has changed in medical research over the years. Women are still considered second class citizens.
12
@joan Because the funders and publishers are mostly male...
8
Yet another study ignoring the differences between male and female hearts
85
@Donna , they have hearts?
3
@Indian Diner , the one I am married to does not seem to have one.
3
Zoo’s have been caring for primates for years and I was surprised to learn that heart disease was fairly common in apes. In fact, they get much same treatment that we do. Researchers need to talk with zoo veterinarians
12
@Patricia Yes! Thank you for stating that. The Great Ape Heart Project is a great example of currently available work and demonstrates rates of heart disease in these other apes. And more cross-talk would be beneficial for all.
13
@Patricia We have gorillas here in NC at a big zoo near Asheboro NC, really fun to watch. They get fed twice a day I think, and the zoo keeper talks afterwards to the people watching around 11 a.m. They were getting fed monkey pellets, but the zoo switched them to celery, veggies and a few pellets and fruits. In the wild they eat fruits when available, figs that ripen up and other wild fruits. Leaves and twigs and bark when there isn't any fruit. Now they are on the true veggie diet, with whole foods, they are much healthier. They also get some of the monkey chow pellets with vitamin B12 and D3. At U. of Washington where Dr. Fouts has chimpanzees being studied by keepers and PhD's, animal vets, 2 twins born there wouldn't play much indoors, but when they got them out in the sun when the outdoor compound was finished they ran around and in 2 weeks were much healthier. They might have had rickets as newborns, but now redeemed by natural habitat. I try to get out in the sun around noon every day for a period of time in the winter. Sunscreen is fine, and if you apply it right before going out, you get some direct sun for about 15 minutes until it takes effect. A different animal nutritional study with chimps, showed the pellet fed only chimps aged rapidly, the whole food chimps did the best, had great fur, or hair and best health. Housework too though is great exercise, like making beds and hauling stuff around the yard and all that.
My takeaway is..... we were designed to move.
To put a Young Frankenstein spin on it, it's what we DO do. Or at least should do.
18
While I do enjoy a good lazy lie down in a hammock, couch, or on the beach with a book, movie, tablet, or lover (in no particular order); I am most happy when I am in motion.
44
My understanding is that bonobos--a very peaceful, sociable, and sex-loving primate-- are just as close to us genetically as chimps. I wonder if their social lifestyle would show up in their hearts. In other words, is the heart condition all about the exercise or also about social stress (make chimps are highly competitive).
19
@Elise
You pose a thoughtful and curious hypothesis, one I haven't seen on here yet. My immediate thought upon reading this was, "what's the impact on social/emotional stress on hearts?" and this may certainly apply to bonobos and humans. Perhaps even other mammals!
2
"Only males were included in this study, although the researchers would like to study women and female primates in the future."
Yes, once again a study that excludes half the population.
176
I’d say when comparing humans to apes, it’s not a big deal. Our female hearts and bodies are similar enough to our male counterparts to apply the conclusions to our lives. Run and walk more, it’s what we were designed to do.
8
@Researcher
More like 99+% of the (US) population was excluded. Young Bostonian males are just a sliver of the population.
6
@Researcher
Yes, unfortunately. But consider, why would anyone *want* to exclude females?
Answer is that they don't, but that males are easier to recruit and have more previous studies and data.
Given unlimited funds huge numbers of subjects would be studied, male, female, cis and trans, various sexual preferences, hobbies, left and right handedness, etc.
And many other primates as well.
All it takes is money.
3
Our hearts changed because we diverged...or we diverged because our hearts changed? The article states the former but doesn’t say why.
“although the researchers would like to study women and female primates in the future“ .... heard that one before... yeah...right...an easy solution would be to defund studies that don’t bother with half the human race. Oh, but it’s it’s the hormones... women’s hormones are regular, men's are...wait for it ....irregular and rise whenever wherever stimulated...so the real excuse is misogyny....
90
@SW Why? Because that's how evolution works. Adaptations are called that because species adapt to their environments. As for the gender disparity, this is a very preliminary study for the scientists to see something they hadn't before. They are not intending to assist medical treatment, so they reduced the possible parameters.
1
@SW And don't publish them either.
2
@SW
As we diverged from our primate ancestors, we became runners, which they definitely were not. We have three pieces of anatomy that we got specifically for running, which the ancestors lack.
*the achilles tendon, which puts the spring in our step--particularly valuable for running.
* the buttocks, the muscles of which help propel us forward at speed
* the nuchal ligament, which runs from the spine to the base of the skull, which keeps the head steady when we run.
We became runners for chasing prey animals.
The heart had to evolve to enable the high energy use in running.
https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2004/11/running-paced-human-evolution/
4
Strange conflations here. Generally, “heart disease” is used to denote either arterial plaque or the heart tissue damage resulting from that plaque having caused the heart itself to be deprived of blood (a heart attack).
So then, how does the undamaged morphology of the heart affect “heart disease?” Seemingly, not at all.
8
@Charlierf Changes in the thickness of the wall particularly the left ventricle often means that the heart is unable to pump as much blood (ejection fraction). This can have a number of potential long term outcomes. One is that the heart starts to compensate by changes in morphology to pump more blood. After time, this remodeling of the heart can lead to an enlarged heart which can lead to overstretching of the heart muscle with a reduced ability to pump blood - the onset of (congestive) heart failure. "Heart disease" is much more than just plaque.
4