Billy Mays' Cause of Death - Hypertensive Heart Disease

UPDATE: it was heart disease

Sadly, America lost a big-voiced original pitchman this past weekend when Billy Mays passed away. Now it has been revealed that heart disease was the culprit. Not OxyClean, not payday loans or fast cash and definitely not foul play.

Michael Muskal reports for the Los Angeles Times that the man who "elevated the art of the television sales spiel to a fevered pitch," died due to hypertensive heart disease. It was a heart attack, Hillsborough County, Florida Medical Examiner Vernard Adams determined.

A killer that stalks many

The preliminary results of Billy Mays' autopsy indicate that hypertensive heart disease symptoms such as shortness of breath, nausea, bloating and difficulty sleeping flat in his bed could have all been likely signs that something was going wrong. Remember, however, that the results so far are only preliminary. Much like in the autopsy of Michael Jackson (where results were leaked), the final results will take a few weeks. So we won't know for sure exactly what it was that killed Billy Mays, although the preliminary findings may very well be accurate. Toxicology and tissue tests results will be analyzed in due time, once the results are clear.

To recap,Mays, 50, was found in his Tampa home on Sunday morning. He had just returned to Florida on a commercial flight after filming an OxyClean commercial in Philadelphia, Pa. His flight did have a rough landing that could have given him a fright, as a tire on the landing gear burst. The impact caused Mays to bump his head during the rocky touchdown on the runway.

But Adams says no head trauma evident

After close inspection during the autopsy, Adams ruled out any type of head injury, either external or internal. So it is unlikely that such a thing could have played a role in Mays' death. However, final results are pending.

What the preliminary autopsy did show is that Billy Mays' heart was heavier than normal. The reason for this as Adams puts it is that his left ventricle had enlarged. According to the coroner, this is a possible symptom of hypertensive heart disease.

Post autopsy, Adams indicated that authorities had ruled out the possible abuse of prescription drugs. It is known that Mays was using prescription painkillers Tramadol and hydrocodone for hip pain, but pill counts showed that he'd taken the amount he was supposed to have taken. The hip pain is related to the fact that Mays has apparently had enough hip trouble to warrant hip replacement in the past. He was even scheduled for another hip replacement surgery, according to family.