Moderator: HMFFL
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) -- Major league pitcher Joe Kennedy died early Friday morning, a Hillsborough County sheriff's official said. He was 28.
Kennedy passed out at home and was brought to a hospital, Hillsborough County sheriff's spokeswoman Debbie Carter said. She had no further details.
Kennedy's agent, Damon Lapa, told ESPN.com that Kennedy died while at home with family in Florida. He did not return phone calls and an e-mail from The Associated Press.
Kennedy had heart condition
Major league pitcher Joe Kennedy was afflicted with a condition that caused his heart to suddenly stop beating at his in-laws' home in November, when he collapsed and later died.
A final report on the 28-year-old player's death on Nov. 23 has not been issued. But an autopsy found he had hypertensive heart disease, a condition that hardens the heart's walls and can cause it to stop beating, said Dr. Vernard Adams, the Hillsborough County medical examiner.
He said the left-hander also had myxoid valvular disease, a condition that affects the way blood flows through a valve that separates the upper and lower chambers on the heart's left side. Both conditions can lead to a higher risk of cardiac arrest.
Adams said medical records indicated that Kennedy had some elevated blood pressure readings and had an electrocardiogram, but those tests would not necessarily reveal either condition.
Hypertensive heart disease "is very common in the general population," Adams said, but "not common in this age group."
Link
