A 50-year-old male dies during a car accident. At autopsy, he is noted to have a moderately stenotic aortic valve. The heart weighs 500 grams. The cause of death from the motor vehicle accident is entirely blunt force injuries of the head and neck, including an atlanto-occipital dislocation. No internal injuries below the neck are identified. There is no history of heart failure. A section of the myocardium from the left ventricle would reveal which of the following processes?
ExplanationBecause of the stenotic aortic valve, increased pressure is placed on the left ventricular myocardium, which responds by increasing the size of the cells, which is hypertrophy.