Increases of calcium, phosphorus, and magnesium in both the right and left fibrous trigones of human heart with aging.

To elucidate compositional changes of the cardiac skeleton with aging, the authors investigated age-related changes of elements in both the right and left fibrous trigones of human heart by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES). After ordinary dissection by medical students was finished, hearts were resected from the subjects and both the right and left fibrous trigones were removed from the hearts. The subjects consisted of 10 men and 13 women, ranging in age from 62 to 99 years. The element content was determined by ICP-AES. The Ca, P, and Mg content began to increase in the seventies in both the right and left fibrous trigones, and increased markedly in the eighties. Regarding the relationships among element contents, extremely significant direct correlations were found among the contents of Ca, P, and Mg in both the right and left fibrous trigones.