A heart attack caused the death of pro wrestling icon Hulk Hogan, authorities said Thursday, a week after the larger-than-life entertainer passed away in Florida.
His cause of death was formally listed as “acute myocardial infarction,” a technical term for a heart attack, according to the District 6 medical examiner, which investigates deaths in Pinellas and Pasco counties.
Hogan’s manner of death was called “natural,” with a pathologist noting the wrestler’s history of “atrial fibrillation” and leukemia.
Clearwater police and firefighters rushed to his home exactly one week ago to answer a “cardiac arrest” call at 9:51 a.m., the city said in a statement.
First responders took the 71-year-old to Morton Plant Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 11:17 a.m., police said.
Hogan — whose real name was Terry Gene Bollea — helped revolutionize pro wrestling, turning it from niche entertainment to a mainstream monster.
His shirt-ripping antics and over-the-top performances led to the “Hulkamania” craze of the 1980s, which reached its apex in 1987 when he slammed fellow wrestling superstar André the Giant to the canvas in WrestleMania III.
