Andy Irons died of cardiac arrest, not dengue fever

Andy Irons had cocaine before heart attack

Andy Irons, the American professional surfer, did not die from dengue fever but due to cardiac arrest, an official autopsy revealed today. The same report showed that "acute mixed drug ingestion" was the secondary cause of death.

The results of the autopsy report was released by the family of Andy Irons seven months after the three-time world champion was found dead in a hotel room in Dallas, Texas.

The Medical Examiner's Office of Tarrant County said that the cardiac arrest was caused by a severe blockage of a main artery of the heart.

"A plaque of this severity, located in the anterior descending coronary artery, is commonly associated with sudden death," forensic pathologist Dr. Vincent Di Maio, who the family of Andy Irons commissioned to review the report, said in a statement.

Andy Irons was discovered to have a genetic predisposition to hardening of the arteries. His family also believes that the champion surfer damaged his heart muscles when he had typhoid fever about five years ago.

There was a variety of drugs found in the body of Andy Irons including Xanax, which he used to reduce anxiety and sleeping problems. Forensic toxicologist Gary H. Wimbish added that the surfer used cocaine some 30 hours prior to his death.

"The family believes Andy was in some denial about the severity of his chemical imbalance and tended to blame his mood swings on himself and his own weaknesses, choosing to self-medicate with recreational drugs," his family said in the statement.

Andy Irons won consecutive world titles in 2002, 2003 and 2005. He was often compared to rival and legendary surfer Kelly Slater.

Posted by Andre Monohan on Friday June 10 2011, 5:58 AM EDT. Ref: Reuters. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Featured News. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0