Medics in Goa, India, were stunned when the man was found unresponsive in a park with no obvious cause of death. When an autopsy was carried out, the man’s heart was found to have calcified, effectively turning the vital organ to stone

Doctors are stunned after a man was killed by a heart of stone in a rare medical anomaly.
The victim, who was homeless, was found dead in a park in Goa, India, but there was no obvious cause of death.
When an autopsy was carried out, medics were totally unprepared for what they found.
Dr Bharat Sreekumar said the man’s heart had calcified, effectively turning the vital organ to stone.
Dr Sreekumar said: “Never have I encountered a medical case like this
“After removing the heart during autopsy, his heart felt quite heavy and on weighing it, it weighed much more than a normal heart.
Medics were stunned to find the man’s heart had calcified (Image: Credit: Pen News/Bharat Sreekumar)
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“The gross structure of the heart had not much changed and it appeared pretty much normal.
“But dissecting the heart was quite difficult as it would not just cut through.
“After opening the ventricles, the endocardial surface – the innermost layer – of the left ventricle appeared completely calcified.”
Normally when a heart hardens, Dr Sreekumar said, it’s associated with a condition called endomyocardial fibrosis (EMF).
According to the National Organization for Rare Disorders, EMF is a progressive disease that can transform the makeup of the heart, replacing normal tissue with tough fibrous tissue.
Dr Bharat Sreekumar said he was stunned by what he found during the man’s autopsy (Image: Credit: Pen News/Bharat Sreekumar)
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But in this case the disease was not to blame for the man’s condition.
“This condition is a very rare phenomenon and very few cases have been reported,” said Dr Sreekumar.
“In those reported cases, it is almost always associated with another entity known as endomyocardial fibrosis.
“In my case, after a thorough microscopic examination, EMF was present but not to an extent so as to call it a completely fibrosed heart.
“But the diagnosis of endocardial calcification fits perfectly – hence making this a very unique phenomenon.”
Nobody knows whether there are underlying causes to blame for the strange occurrence.
The doctor, from Kochi, Kerala, said: “Currently there is no scientific proof or evidence as to how this occurs.
“The etiology and pathophysiology of this phenomenon still remains a mystery.”
Goa Medical College released an image showing the calcification of the man’s heart under the microscope.
The facility in Goa where the autopsy was performed (Image: Credit: Pen News/Bharat Sreekumar)
However, the college were unable to release images of the man himself and his identity remains unknown.
“He was a beggar seen roaming the park area in Goa. His age was approximately 50 years,” said Dr Sreekumar.
“The patient was brought for autopsy, since he was found as an unidentified person lying in a park in Goa.
“Usually in the case of unidentified bodies, we do not have relevant clinical history or diagnosis, nor any relatives to give a proper history.
“So we have to rule out any and all conditions that could have caused his sudden death hence the autopsy was requested.”
Calcification – by which calcium is deposited in soft tissue, causing it to harden – is also responsible for kidney stones and gall stones.