When famed Polish composer, Frédéric Chopin died in 1849, his heart was removed and preserved in a jar. In 2014, scientists studied the heart and determined his immediate cause of death was pericarditis, an inflammation of the tissue surrounding the heart. Learn more about how the scientists examined the preserved heart in David Niesel and Norbert Herzog’s weekly column. This column is also published in The Galveston County Daily News.