How does the human heart compare in efficiency to the heart of other mammals like the horse?

This might seem like an abstract question but it is pertinent.

 

On the evolutionary scale the ape was superior to the equus and both have a 4 chambered heart.

 

But the horse can even sleep standing up which I presume must put enormous strain on the heart.

 

What would be the equivalent in the human domain? (running the 4 minute mile) ?

 

Please advise.

 

And of course, what does this tell us about evolution within a phylum?

 

Would it be possible for instance to transplant a heart from a horse and implant in a human in the future? (or may be an orangutan)?

 

Thanks in advance.

 

 

While I do not know much about hearts of these animals, you have a misunderstanding of evolution. Ape is not superior to equus in evolutionary terms, as both have succesfully survived in their own enviorments.
Sleeping while standing up is not a strain to the heart, because as far as I know they have some sort of locking system in their leg bones that allow them to stay standing without having to use leg muscles.

They are both mammals and their hearts, while not identical, have evolved along with the organism to meet it's needs along with the other systems in it's body, neither is superior to the other in any basic way...

Trans-species organ implants have been done but the rejection problem is greatly compounded compared to intra-species transplants.

Our body rejects organ grafts from other organisms.

 

How does the human heart compare in efficiency to the heart of other mammals like the horse?

This might seem like an abstract question but it is pertinent.

Pertinent to what?

 

It is not at all abstract - it's a hardcore physiological number, that has almost certainly been answered at least in the realm of competitive athletes of both species (thoroughbred racing horses and long distance runners, say). The connection of such a comparison with evolutionary theory would be far removed, fairly complex.

 

You seem to be trying to ask questions about the predictions or applications of evolutionary theory, without a basic introductory acquaintanceship with it.

IIRC there was recently a cross species implant that didn't have any drastic problems with rejection. I'll try to find the source if I can remember later today,

I guess you could take a heart from an animal, lets say a Horse, then remove everything but the collagen fibers (I think that how it is done in current experiments to grow a heart) then replace the muscles with stems cells from a human and have a Horse heart that is composed of human tissue. I'm not sure why a horse heart would be better than a human heart I would think it would be too big at the very least..

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_heart

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circulatory_system_of_the_horse

 

Here's the wiki article:

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xenotransplantation

 

I mainly recall news articles about how they were looking at using gene mod pigs for this. IMO be better if we could develop bioprinting instead. Avoids all the ethical and safety issues that plague the others.