New Findings In Surfing Great Andy Irons' Death

An autopsy report has disclosed that three-time world surfing champion Andy Irons’ death last November was the result of a combination of a heart attack and drugs. Irons’ body was discovered Nov. 2, 2010, in a Dallas hotel room. A copy of the autopsy was given to The New York Times by a publicist for Irons’ family.

The cause of death was initially reported to be dengue fever, which he was thought to have contracted before competition in Puerto Rico. Irons was considered to be one of the best competitive surfers of his era, but rumors of drug use followed him throughout his career.

“This is a very straightforward case," said Dr. Vincent di Maio, who at the request of Irons' family was brought in to interpret the autopsy results. "Mr. Irons died of a heart attack due to…‘hardening of the arteries.’ He had an atherosclerotic plaque producing 70%-80% narrowing of his anterior descending coronary artery. This is very severe narrowing. A plaque of this severity, located in the anterior descending coronary artery, is commonly associated with sudden death,” he said. The official autopsy result also listed a secondary cause of death as “acute mixed drug ingestion.”