As days have passed since the untimely death of Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins, some details about his health have surfaced. It was reported before his death, an ambulance was called to his hotel in Colombia due to chest pains. Colombian officials later reported Hawkins had ten substances in his system at the time of his death.
Now, another report about the drummer’s physical condition has surfaced: Evening Standard reports Hawkins’ heart weighed “at least 600 grams,” as was discovered during an autopsy. For reference, that’s about twice as much as would be expected: A 2012 study found the average weight of an adult male human heart was 331 grams, based on hearts from 232 “healthy men” aged 18 to 35 years old. That’s consistent with many other sources, which put the average weight of a male human heart at about 300 grams.
Furthermore, according to Matthew Zinn, Shawn West, and Bernhard Kuhn (of Children’s Hospital Of Pittsburgh Of UPMC in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), “In adults, the upper limit of normal for heart mass has been defined by postmortem examination as approximately 500 g, also known as the critical heart mass.” Hawkins’ heart was significantly above that upper limit.
Evening Standard also notes that according to a report from “respected Colombian news magazine Semana,” “Investigators have concluded the 50-year-old suffered cardiovascular collapse after binging on a cocktail of drugs. […] It also said authorities had confirmed to them the famed musician had overdosed on heroin mixed with antidepressants and benzodiazepines, which are psychoactive drugs known as benzos.”