Regional study of free fatty acids and free carnitine behavior in cardiac tissue in relation to different causes of death.

The determination of free fatty acids (FFA) and free carnitine (FC) in seven different regions of the human heart has been done. The hearts used were classified into six groups according to the cause of death. The results show that these two parameters are useless in ascertaining the cause of death, although they can provide useful postmortem information about the duration of the agonal process.