title: Comparison at Necropsy of Heart Weight in Women Aged 20 to 29 Years With Fatal Trauma or Chemical Intoxication Versus Fatal Natural Cause (A Search for the Normal Adult Heart Weight).
abstract: The present obesity epidemic makes determining the normal heart weight in adults difficult. This study examines the heart weight at autopsy in 104 women aged 20 to 29 years who died in 1978 to 1980 before the overweight epidemic ensued. Of the 104 cases, the hearts weighed ≤300 g in 86 (83%) and >300 g in 18 (17%). Of the 67 cases dying from an unnatural cause (trauma or chemical intoxication), only 3 (4%) had hearts weighing >300 g; of the 37 patients dying from a variety of natural causes, 15 (41%) had hearts weighing >300 g (p <0.001). The body mass index (BMI) was ≤25 kg/m2in 82 cases (79%) and the hearts in them ranged from 120 to 400 g (mean 262 ± 51; median 257 g); of the 22 cases (21%) in whom the BMI was >25 kg/m2, the hearts ranged from 230 to 850 g (mean 351 ± 142; median 300 g). In conclusion, the cases dying from an unnatural cause had smaller mean heart weights than those women dying from a natural cause and those with a normal BMI (≤25 kg/m2) had smaller mean heart weights than those with a BMI >25 kg/m2. The normal heart weight in young women dying from an unnatural cause with few exceptions is <300 g.
authors.affiliation: Government of the District of Columbia Department of Human Resources Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, Washington, DC.
authors.forename: Brian D
authors.initials: BD
authors.lastname: Blackbourne
authors.affiliation: Baylor, Scott, and White Research Institute, Dallas, Texas.
authors.forename: Anupama
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Vasudevan
authors.affiliation: Baylor Heart and Vascular Hospital, Dallas, Texas; Department of Internal Medicine and Department of Pathology, Baylor University Medical Center, Dallas, Texas. Electronic address: william.roberts1@bswhealth.org.
authors.forename: William C
authors.initials: WC
authors.lastname: Roberts
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001344:Autopsy; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002249:Carbon Monoxide Poisoning / Q000401:mortality; D002423:Cause of Death; D062787:Drug Overdose / Q000401:mortality; D005260:Female; D006321:Heart / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D006331:Heart Diseases / Q000401:mortality; D006801:Humans; D020300:Intracranial Hemorrhages / Q000401:mortality; D009929:Organ Size; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000401:mortality; D012016:Reference Values; D012640:Seizures / Q000401:mortality; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000401:mortality; D055815:Young Adult