Heart weight and heart weight/body weight coefficient in malnourished adults.

OBJECTIVE To compare the heart weight and the heart weight/body weight coefficient of adults with and without chronic malnutrition. METHODS In an initial case series of 210 autopsies performed in adults, we recorded body and heart weights and calculated the heart weight/body weight coefficients (HW/BW x 100). The exclusion criteria were as follows: positive serology for Chagas' disease, edema, obesity, heart diseases, hepatopathies, nephropathies, and systemic arterial hypertension. Malnutrition was characterized as a body mass index <18.5kg/m2. Differences with p<0.05 were considered significant. RESULTS Individuals in the malnourished (n=15) and control (n=21) groups were statistically different, respectively, in regard to body mass index (15.9+/-1.7 versus 21.3+/-2.5kg/m2), heart weight (267.3+/-59.8 versus 329.1+/-50.4g), and the HW/BW coefficient (0.64+/-0.12 versus 0.57+/-0.09%). A positive and significant correlation was observed between heart weight and body mass index (r=0.52), and between heart weight and body weight (r=0.65). CONCLUSION Malnourished individuals have lighter hearts and a greater HW/BW coefficient than non-malnourished individuals do. These findings indicate a possible preservation of the myocardium in relation to the intensity of weight loss associated with the probable relative increase in cardiac connective tissue and heart blood vessels.