Transverse dimension measurement of the heart is a good estimator for heart weight

Heart weight is a routine measurement during a post-mortem examination. An increased heart weight is associated with preexisting heart disease and sudden cardiac death. In cases where the heart is partially fragmented, it may be hard to obtain an accurate heart weight by weighing it. If a compromised/fragmented heart size can be approximated, assessing the heart dimensions may provide a heart weight estimation. This study examined 46 fresh Caucasian adult hearts and found a high and significant correlation between heart dimensions and heart weight. Using linear regression modelling, heart weight can be estimated using only the transverse dimension (or width) of the heart with a relatively high accuracy. The established equation in estimating heart weight was heart weight (g) = −298 + 5.92 * heart width (mm), R2 = 0.71.