"King sized" hearts in infants: comparison of cardiac to body mass in ventricular septal defect in various age-groups.
Heart and body weight were reviewed in reports of 223 human cadavers. Of these, 146 were of control (normal) hearts and 77 of hearts with ventricular septal defects. In each case the heart weight as a percentage of body weight was calculated (defined as pathological heart-body ratio). It was observed that under the age of 4 years, monstrous cardiomegalies may reach 3.2% of the total body weight. These "king sized" hearts were not found above the age of 4.
Smolinsky
A K
AK
Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Chaim Sheba Medical Center, Tel-Hashomer, Israel.
Modan
M
M
Goor
D A
DA
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D001835:Body Weight; D006332:Cardiomegaly / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D006345:Heart Septal Defects, Ventricular / Q000150:complications / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D009929:Organ Size