Andy Irons autopsy report lists heart attack and drug ingestion as causes of death
After a long wait, the mystery surrounding the death of Andy Irons, a three-time world surfing champion, has finally unfolded with the preparation of the final autopsy and toxicology report. The report is currently held by a Tarrant County District Court
in Forth Worth, Texas and will be released to public on June 20th.
The Irons family had appointed a forensic pathologist, Dr. Vincent Di Maio, to examine and determine the actual cause of Iron’s sudden death. According to his report, the 32-year-old Hawaiian had died due to the hardening of coronary arteries that had consequently
led to a heart attack that claimed his life.
Dr. Maio further explained, “A plaque of this severity, located in the anterior descending coronary artery, is commonly associated with sudden death. The only unusual aspect of the case is Mr. Irons' age, 32 years old.”
Aside from the hardening of the coronary arteries, the Iron family was reportedly informed by the forensic pathologist there was no other contributing factor to Iron’s death.
However, Nizam Peerwani, a Tarrant County Chief Medical Examiner responsible for preparing the official autopsy and toxicology report, was convinced that “acute mixed drug ingestion” also contributed to the surfer’s demise. According to his examination and
the report that he filed with the Tarrant County District Court, traces of anti-anxiety medication Xanax, methadone, methamphetamine, Benzoylecgonine and cocaine were found in Iron’s body.
Dr. Maio did not object to the content of the official report, but insisted that the quantity of most of the drugs found in his body were actually at therapeutic levels and were unlikely to have contributed to his death.
The Irons family have made it clear that they have no intention of disputing the official report that adds drugs to the causes of death.
Instead, they issued a statement that said, “Andy was prescribed Xanax and Zolpidem (Ambien) to treat anxiety and occasional insomnia — a result of a bipolar disorder diagnosed by his family doctor at age 18. This is when Andy first began experiencing episodes
of manic highs and depressive lows.”
The statement went on to say that while the drugs were prescribed for medical purposes, the severity of drug imbalance in Irons’ system became severe, though he remained in denial.
Irons died on November 2, 2010, while on his way home to Hawaii to be with his pregnant wife, Lyndie Dupuis, as well as meet up with his doctor due to deteriorating health. He was reportedly suffering from dengue. However, he was found dead in a Dallas hotel
room, with the cause of death becoming somewhat mysterious, especially after the Irons family filed an appeal in the court in December to get the release of the autopsy report delayed.
Though it is a relief to finally learn about the factors that led to Irons’ death, the autopsy report also comes as a reminder that one of the greatest athlete in surfing history is not among us anymore. He has contributed massively to the progression of
the sport and has been acknowledged as the greatest rival by America’s legendary surfer, Kelly Slater.
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