LOS ANGELES — Rapper Heavy D died last month of a
blood clot to the lung that was likely formed during a long flight home
from London, where he performed a tribute to Michael Jackson, according
to the Los Angeles County coroner’s chief of operations.
Although some had speculated that his weight or
pneumonia played a role in Heavy D’s sudden death on Nov. 8, the autopy
report released Tuesday revealed that he suffered from deep leg
thrombosis that caused a pulmonary embolism.
Known as the silent killer, a pulmonary embolism is
the medical term for a blood clot in the lung. A blockage typically
forms in the legs, during long periods of inactivity. The clot can break
off and travel to the lung, where it can become fatal if not treated
immediately, said Dr. Matthew Butteri, who specializes in internal
medicine at the University of California, Irvine Medical Center.
“It’s the equivalent of a heart attack,” Butteri
said. “Just like when you have a blockage in your coronary arteries and
you have a heart attack. Well, this is an infraction in your lungs so
it’s really a lung attack because the blood clot is preventing getting
oxygen to critical lung tissue.”
Butteri recommended in-flight exercises and short walks around the airplane to help avoid clots from forming.
Heavy D, who was born Dwight Arrington Myers,
collapsed outside his Beverly Hill home on Nov. 8 and later died at
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. He was 44.
At the time of his death, the musician was being
treated by a private physician for a cough that some said may have
become pneumonia. A toxicology report found the presence of medication
in Heavy D’s system, but it was at a therapeutic level.
He was 6 foot 3 and weighed more than 300 pounds at
one point, but had slimmed down in recent years. His weight was not a
factor in his death.
Instead, Craig Harvey, chief of the Los Angeles
County department of coroner, said the blood clot was “most likely
formed during an extended airplane ride.”
He had recently returned from London.
Heavy D helped shaped rap music in the late ‘80s and
‘90s with a fusion of New Jack Swing and reggae. He most recently
appeared in the movie “Tower Heist.”
Other well-known figures have died or suffered from
the illness. Tennis star Serena Williams underwent emergency surgery in
Los Angeles in March for a potentially lethal blood clot in her lung. In
2003, NBC correspondent David Bloom died of a pulmonary embolism in
Iraq, three days after complaining about cramping behind his knee.
Factors that cause the illness include immobility
such as being bed-ridden or taking long flights, surgery, smoking, birth
control and a genetic predisposition.
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