Alcohol Role In George Michael’s Cause Of Death: What’s Dilated Cardiomyopathy?

All the speculations about George Michael’s cause of death are now over. It has been revealed that the pop icon died of “dilated cardiomyopathy with myocarditis and fatty liver.” According to senior coroner Darren Salter, George died from a weakened heart and a damaged liver. The final post-mortem report concluded that the 53-year-old suffered a natural death. However, did alcohol play a role in his death?

Salter has confirmed the natural cause of death. Therefore, the investigation into George’s death will now be discontinued. The senior coroner said there was no need to carry out any further inquiries. The final post-mortem report comes after Thames Valley Police termed the December report as “inconclusive.” The police department said the death was still treated as unexplained, even though the department did not talk about anything suspicious about it. George died on Christmas last year.

Singer George Michael died of natural causes, coroner says in statement – there will be no further inquest pic.twitter.com/tsAYhLpHSE

— Sky News (@SkyNews) March 7, 2017

Now that George Michael’s cause of death has been finalized, OK Magazine reveals that the family can get ready for his funeral. The singer’s untimely death takes us to a seemingly uncommon disease called dilated cardiomyopathy. We also wonder what myocarditis is, even though many of us are aware of fatty liver, which is often caused by alcohol.

What Is Dilated Cardiomyopathy?

Dilated cardiomyopathy or DCM is a disorder that makes heart chambers dilated. Heart muscles get weakened, as the heart is unable to pump effectively. The most common cause of this disorder is myocardial ischemia. In simpler terms, the heart muscles do not receive enough oxygen because of a coronary artery disease. In this condition, the left ventricle is unable to pump enough blood. Over time, dilated cardiomyopathy might affect other chambers as well.

George Michael’s sudden made everyone wonder about its cause, probably because he was not suffering from any particular disease at that moment. That is the thing with dilated cardiomyopathy. It has either minor or no symptoms. The minor symptoms include weight gain, fatigue, palpitations, swelling of the lower extremities and lightheadedness. Other symptoms include chest pain, pressure, and even sudden death. Sadly enough, that was what happened to the pop star.

There are a number of causes for dilated cardiomyopathy. Those include alcohol, diabetes, thyroid issues, and severe coronary artery disease. The causes also include heart valve abnormalities and viral infections of the heart. According to Medicine Net, DCM can be inherited as well. The role of alcohol in George Michael’s cause of death is critical because two out of three causes of his death are caused by alcohol consumption, dilated cardiomyopathy, and fatty liver.

Was George Michael Into Alcohol?

George Michael’s friend Andros Georgiou has said that the singer was trying to lead a “normal life,” but he was not allowed to do so. He believes a cocktail of alcohol and drugs was responsible for George’s death. Three years before he died, he was released from a rehab.

“I just think that he took too much of something, mixed with the anti-depressants he was on, and with alcohol,” Daily Mail Online quoted Georgiou as saying on the Victoria Derbyshire show. “I think his heart just stopped beating.”

Even though the final post-mortem report does not quite go with Georgiou’s version, there is no denying the fact that alcohol plays a major role in dilated cardiomyopathy and fatty liver. Myocarditis, on the other hand, is an inflammation of the middle layer of the heart wall. It affects the heart’s electrical system and its muscle cells. The disorder is s usually caused by a viral infection, according to Mayo Clinic.

[Featured Image by MJ Kim/Getty Images]