Heart valve measurement at autopsy can distinguish cardiac from non-cardiac causes of death.

Abstract

The circumferences of the four intact cardiac valves were measured during 397 coroner's autopsies using an obturator cone to assess the value of this measurement in the postmortem diagnosis of cardiac disease. Valve sizes of cases with cardiac and noncardiac causes of death were compared using logistic regression to assess the effects of confounding variables including sex, age, height, build and the presence of chronic obstructive airways disease. Mitral valve enlargement was found to be significantly associated with cardiac death, as were build, age, and sex. Measurement of the mitral valve at autopsy can help distinguish cardiac from noncardiac causes of death.