Dale Oen Died Of Heart Disease

Dale Oen Died Of Heart Disease, Norwegian swimmer Alexander Dale Oen, the world 100 meters breaststroke champion, died of hereditary heart disease, an Arizona medical examiner said on Tuesday.Dale Oen, who had been considered one of his country’s best hopes for a medal at this year’s Summer Olympic Games in London, collapsed at a training camp in Flagstaff in northern Arizona on April 30 and was later pronounced dead. He was 26.

A first autopsy in early May into the swimmer’s death proved inconclusive. The results of a second set of tests released Tuesday by the Coconino County Public Health Services District found he died of atheroscle**t*c coronary artery disease.

The condition is essentially a hardening of the arteries caused by plaque buildup that narrows and makes the arterial passages stiffer. The condition makes it harder for blood to flow through arteries and is a common cause of heart attack.

“Based on the autopsy findings and the investigative history that is available to me, it is my opinion that Alexander Dale-Oen died of atheroscle**t*c coronary artery disease,” Coconino County medical examiner Lawrence Czarnecki wrote in a report.

The second tests revealed “severe atheroscle**t*c disease of the coronary arteries” supplying blood to the heart, and found that the left descending artery was “occluded” by “atheroscle**t*c plaque.”

“The decedent’s only known risk factor for heart disease was familial,” Czarnecki found, noting that one of Dale Oen’s grandfathers died suddenly of heart disease at age 42.

“Given the decedent’s young age and significant atheroscle**t*c disease, a follow-up and evaluation of family members is recommended,” he added. (ABS CBN News)