Actor Ryan O’Neal dies: What was the cause of death?

Actor Ryan O’Neal, who was nominated for an Academy Award for ‘Love Story’, died on December 8 at the age of 82. A death that saddened the world of acting, and that his son Patrick reported on his Instagram profile: “My dad passed away peacefully today, with his loving team by his side, supporting and loving him as he would do with us.”

At the time, the cause of death was not known, although different media pointed to various health problems he had suffered in recent years. He was diagnosed with chronic leukemia in 2001 and prostate cancer in 2012.

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Actor Ryan O’Neal dies: What was the cause of death?

Now, two weeks later, celebrity and entertainment news website Page Six reports that the actor’s death certificate indicates that he died from congestive heart failure. This comes after he suffered from cardiomyopathy for years.

This illness had led him to be admitted to the Providence Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, California, which is where he passed away. The charismatic actor was later buried at Pierce Brothers Westwood Village Memorial Park & Mortuary.

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What is congestive heart failure?

Congestive heart failure is the inability of the heart to satisfy the body’s needs for blood. When the heart weakens, the blood begins to retreat and expel fluid through the capillary walls, which causes an accumulation of fluid in different organs.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, cardiomyopathy represents a group of various heart conditions of the heart muscle. When cardiomyopathy takes place, “the normal muscle in the heart can thicken, stiffen, thin out, or fill with substances the body produces that do not belong in the heart muscle.” This situation can lead to irregular heartbeats, the backup of blood into the lungs or other parts of the body, and heart failure.