Predicting expected heart weight from reference table

Dr J. Vanhaebost, MD
Dr K. Michaud, MD

Version 0.9 ( 12/04/2012 )

Heart Weight Analysis



BMI:  kg/m2    BSA:  m2
Heart Weight:  g
(  g /  g )

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Heart Weight

Knowledge of the variations in heart weight for age, sex, body surface area and BMI is important information for pathologists. The heart weight at autopsy in comparison to reference values is one of the key elements used to determine if the heart is pathological or not. The heart weight increases in certain cardiac pathologies, such as hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, in pulmonary hypertension or in some other chronic diseases. An increased heart weight may suggest one of these pathologies, which should prompt careful investigation during autopsy and histological examination.

This application was developed in order to compare the heart weights observed at autopsy with reference values in a healthy population. Our reference values are based on a study including 288 adults’ patients without any obvious pathology who were autopsied in western Switzerland from 2007 to 2011. This application also calculates the body mass index and the body surface area according to the Boyd formula.


Published in : Vanhaebost J, Faouzi M, Mangin P, Michaud K. New reference tables and user-friendly Internet application for predicted heart weights. Int J Legal Med. 2014 Jul;128(4):615-20. doi: 10.1007/s00414-013-0958-9. Epub 2014 Jan 11. PMID: 24414936.

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