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Letter to the Editor

We found the article entitled ‘Sudden adult death: a medico-legal series of 77 cases between 1995 and 2000’ (Grandmaison and Durigon, 2002) extremely interesting. This study found that persons dying of cardiovascular disease had higher heart weights (HWs) than did persons dying of other causes. However, because body height and weight are strongly correlated to the HW, they should be considered when estimating HW. In a study of forensic autopsy cases of deaths from external causes the authors found that normal HW could be easily and quickly calculated from the body height and body weight (Hitosugi et al., 1999). Using a scale relating HW to body height and body weight the authors found 73% of persons who had died suddenly of heart or aortic disease while working had higher than normal HWs (Hitosugi and Takatsu, 2000). This result is similar to that of Grandmaison and Durigon. Because measurement of total HW is a simple and valid method for forensic pathologists, we propose that HWs at autopsy should be compared with estimates of normal HWs which consider body height and weight.