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 29years who died in 1978 to 1980 before the overweight epidemic ensued. Of the 104 cases, the hearts weighed ≤300g in 86 (83%) and >300g in 18 (17%). Of the 67 cases dying from an unnatural cause (trauma or chemical intoxication), only 3 (4%) had hearts weighing >300g; of the 37 patients dying from a variety of natural causes, 15 (41%) had hearts weighing >300g (p <0.001). The body mass index (BMI) was ≤25kg/m2 in 82 cases (79%) and the hearts in them ranged from 120 to 400g (mean 262 ± 51; median 257g); of the 22 cases (21%) in whom the BMI was >25kg/m2, the hearts ranged from 230 to 850g (mean 351 ± 142; median 300g). 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 (≤25kg/m2) had smaller mean heart weights than those with a BMI >25kg/m2. The normal heart weight in young women dying from an unnatural cause with few exceptions is <300g.