Heart surgeon reclaims collection record after gathering thousands of heart-shaped things
By day, Diana Reser (Switzerland) is a heart surgeon with her patients’ lives in her hands.
And in her spare time, her love for the organ has led to her amassing the world’s largest collection of heart-shaped items.
Her life-long passion first saw her claim the record in 2010 with 775 items, but she lost the title in 2024 when by Susan West (USA) presented her collection of 1,560 different things.
Diana had never stopped collecting though, and this April, she counted up all of her heart-themed clothing, ornaments, artwork and more to retake the record with a total of 3,200.
Diana, who was the first female heart surgeon to receive a Professor title from a Swiss university, started collecting when she was a medical student around 25 years ago.
She’d just completed an internship in heart surgery and knew that’s what she wanted to do with her life.
“From that moment on when word spread about my dream job I received heart-shaped presents which goes on until today,” she told us.
When asked what sort of items her collection is made up of, she said: “You name it, I have it. Basically everything you can use in your everyday life.
“For the record attempt I categorized all 3,200 hearts I possess and you can certainly say that the counts are very high – but I just can’t influence what people give me for presents, and therefore I am happy about every new piece, no matter how many I already have of the same or similar kind.”
Diana has everything from heart-shaped solar lights to car air fresheners, hair accessories, perfumes and soaps, jewellery, clothing, items all around her home and even six heart tattoos inked on her body.
She told us: “The fascination of heart surgery and the strong presence of the heart shape in our everyday lives [is what drew me to hearts]. It is a universal symbol for love, life and the soul.
“It is curious, but once you consciously see hearts in your environment you won’t unsee them ever again. I call this ‘heart-itis’. It is contagious and once you are infected, you will never get rid of it.”
Diana when she first broke the record
Looking around all her items, Diana says it’s very difficult for her to pick a favourite, but two that stand out are paintings: one, a Picasso-style colourful image of three women holding a heart and the other, a barn owl with a heart-shaped face that was painted for her by her sister.
Around half of the items in Diana’s collection were given to her as gifts, although she’s picked up many of them herself from all over the world.
Included in her trove are a number of rare and obscure items, such as a heart-shaped Rubik’s cube, a fully functioning stethoscope, and even a piece of the Berlin wall.
Read about more record-breaking collections in our dedicated section.
Diana’s collection is all stored at her home and office, with her constantly surrounded by her hearts.
She admits she never really felt like she had lost her record because she knew at the time she had more than the other collector, she just hadn’t done another official account yet.
Now, she’s curious to see how long it’ll stand for.
“The first time it was 14 years,” she said. “If it lasts longer now I will probably be retired by then.”
The one thing missing from her collection?
“The Heart of Eternity diamond,” Diana joked.
The rare gem weighs 27.64 carats and is worth at least $16 million (£11. 8 m).
Diana said: “It is one of the very rare blue heart-shaped diamonds whose current owner and worth is unknown.
“But now seriously, yes, I have a heart-shaped shower head but unfortunately it broke after a fall and it is impossible to find another one online.
“It is crazy, but it’s true. So, if you happen to see one, please let me know.”
Diana is grateful to her family, friends, colleagues and patients who have helped her add to her collection over the years.
She said: “I dedicate my collection to them and the awareness for everyone’s own heart health. We can do so much nowadays to prevent, detect and treat heart disease before it is too late. Everybody should go for a heart checkup at 50 at the latest, or earlier when you have a heart condition in your family history.
“And if you really need heart surgery, it is not the end of the world: don’t be afraid of it, because it is a very safe surgery in elective patients.”
Diana also wants to send a big thank you to her Guinnes World Record witnesses Peter Hartmeier and Ralph Pöhner, who verified that her collection really exists.
