Question

Why does heart WEIGHT increase with body weight? detailed answer please

Answer 1

With increase in body weight there is increased weight of the organs as weight of the body is increased due to more tissues getting added to the body organs. There is also increase in the amount of blood flowing through the body as the increased body tissues need more blood for their increased functions. The heart now needs to work harder to pump the extra blood all over the body to the increased body tissues. This increased work load on the heart causes the heart muscles to increase in size and stretch and enlarge to continue pumping more blood throughout the body which has more tissues now due to increased weight. The heart muscles gradually get thicker which makes it difficult for the heart muscles to relax during the diastolic phase of cardiac cycle. If the work load on the heart muscles continue to rise, the heart muscles may irreversible get streched and may no longer be able to keep up with the increased blood supply of the body which may eventually result in heart failure.

Thus, with increase in the body weight, the heart weight also increases as the heart needs to pump the increased blood throughout the body which has got more tissues now due to increased body weight. Inorder to keep up with the increased blood demand of the body, there is more load on the heart which causes heart muscles to increase in size and stretch resulting in increased the weight of the heart.