Pickled in 'cognac', Chopin's heart gives up its secrets

World
Europe

The heart of Frederic Chopin, among the world's most cherished musical virtuosos, may finally have given up the cause of his untimely death.

The prolific 19th-century Polish-French pianist and composer died at the age of 39, of what had long been believed to be tuberculosis (TB).

However, in 2008, Polish medical experts raised the possibility that Chopin – whose health had always been very frail – had actually suffered from cystic fibrosis (CF).

The genetic respiratory illness clogs the lungs with sticky, thick mucus and sufferers on average generally do not survive past their late 30s.

The church where Frederic Chopin's heart is kept /AFP Photo

Now, Polish scientists, who were the first to use modern technology to study Chopin's heart – preserved for the last 168 years inside a crystal jar in what appears to be cognac – believe they are a step closer to an accurate diagnosis.

Unable to open the hermetically sealed jar, his team of medical experts used high-resolution photographs taken in 2014 to make their diagnosis.

"The lesions are clearly visible on the pericardium of Chopin's heart," the lead researcher Professor Michal Witt, a top specialist in molecular and clinical genetics, told AFP, referring to the organ's outer membrane typically affected by complications stemming from TB.

The findings of Witt and his team are due to be published in the February print issue of the esteemed American Journal of Medicine, complete with a unique photograph of the pickled heart. But without DNA tests, Witt admits that he cannot entirely rule out the possibility of cystic fibrosis.

A memorial tablet marks the place where Chopin's heart is kept. /AFP Photo

In 2008, Poland's culture ministry rejected a request by academics to run DNA tests on the relic to check for the CFTR gene, a telltale sign of cystic fibrosis, over fears the procedure could irreparably damage the heart.

Whether Chopin suffered from cystic fibrosis "is still debatable," Witt told AFP. "We cannot prove this for sure, but the likelihood that it was tuberculosis rather than cystic fibrosis is far, far higher.We can say that with a high degree of confidence."

Without genetic tests, it is also impossible to be entirely certain that the organ itself is Chopin's, although as Witt points out, there "is no reason to believe that it isn't, at least to our knowledge."

Last examined in 1945 after World War II, the heart is "clearly visible" and well preserved in what Witt calls a "light amber brown" liquid.

Chopin's heart is kept inside a pillar in Warsaw's sprawling and ornate baroque Church of the Holy Cross. After his death in exile in Paris in 1849, it was brought to Chopin's native Warsaw that same year by his elder sister Ludwika to honor his dying wish.

Portrait of Chopin /Chinadaily Photo

Born in Zelazowa Wola near Warsaw in 1810, Chopin composed many of his most moving pieces in his father's native France.

Having refused to take a Russian passport, he was never able to set foot on his and his mother's native Polish soil following the failed insurrection.

Described by 19th-century German composer Robert Schumann as "cannons hidden among blossoms," Chopin's music was and remains a symbol of Poland's long and turbulent struggle for freedom.

6943km

Source(s): AFP