Wife of Latino wrestler says he died of heart failure

Latino Legends in Sports News.

Wife of Latino wrestler says "Eddie died of heart failure"

Written by latinosportslegends.com

November 17, 2005 -- Eddie Guerrero, the professional wrestler whose body was found in a hotel here, died from heart failure, his widow said Tuesday.

The county medical examiner's office declined to comment on the report, which was published on the World Wrestling Entertainment Web site.

Guerrero told the website, "It was from his past – the drinking and the drug abuse. They found signs of heart disease. She (the examiner) said that the blood vessels were very worn and narrow, and that just showed all the abuse from the scheduling of work and his past. And Eddie just worked out like crazy all the time. It made his heart grow bigger and work harder and the vessels were getting smaller, and that’s what caused the heart failure. He went into a deep sleep.

The Hennepin County Medical Examiner's Office said it wouldn't publicly release an autopsy report for several weeks. A phone call left at a possible Arizona residence for Vickie Guerrero was not immediately returned while a call to another possible Arizona residence went unanswered. Stamford, Conn.-based WWE declined to provide Vickie Guerrero's phone number.

Eddie Guerrero, 38, was only the second wrestler of Hispanic heritage to be WWE champion. He was a featured star on the UPN show "WWE Smackdown!" and was in Minneapolis on Sunday to film a WWE show.

After Guerrero didn't respond to a wake-up call in his hotel room Sunday morning, his nephew, fellow WWE wrestler Chavo Guerrero, and hotel security staffers forced their way in and found him on the floor.

Eddie Guerrero will be laid to rest this Thursday in a private service in Phoenix, Arizona.

The Guerrero family has asked that fans please respect their privacy during this trying time and not attempt to attend the services.