Billy Mays Likely Died Of Heart Disease
A Florida medical examiner says that beloved pitchman Billy Mays suffered from hypertensive heart disease and likely died of a heart attack. A day earlier, Mays bumped his head during a rough landing on a US Airways flight — but the autopsy showed no head trauma.
Mays was also taking Tramadol and hydrocodone for hip pain, but the examiner says that there was no evidence that Mays was abusing these drugs, and that pill counts show he had been taking the correct amount.
Medical examiner: TV pitchman Billy Mays likely died of heart attack; no head trauma found [LA Times]
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He didn't lie when he said he had a hard head. I will miss him though. Pitchmen really showed how great of a man he was.
HI THERE COMMENTER FULL.TANG.HALO HERE, DOING A JOKE TO DEATH.....
Just goes to show you
GO TO THE DOCOTR AND GET A STRESS TEST!
Especially over 40! It only takes your first heart attack to die from one.
I will miss him. Between all the recent deaths, his shocked me the most and I will miss him the most. :(
I had been on vacation and just Friday night watched 3 episodes of Pitchmen.
I wonder if Discovery will still air the finished episodes.
Will they still air his commercials as well?
Waitasec... Someone whose face has been on TV more than just about anyone in the history of the world, and he WASN'T abusing his prescription painkillers?!
It's shocking, but good to hear. :)
Ah, I'll miss him yelling at me. He was the least-irritating salesman out there, IMHO. I worry about who they'll find to replace him...
This sounds like an incredible coincidence. Does anyone know if this sort of thing happens often? Dying of a heart attack in your sleep?
Also, as a side thought - how much money would US Airways pay the medical examiner to rig the autopsy report so as to avoid the lawsuits and bad publicity? Sure, its a zany conspiracy theory, but the motive's there, isn't it?
Someone who worked his butt off his whole life to get to where he was... seemed to really care for his family, and seemed to be a genuinely good guy.
A guilty aside... I am glad to hear that it wasn't head trauma because after Natasha Richardson's death, and then had that been the cause here, hospitals would be overflowing with bumped heads looking for checkups.
Billy annoyed me when I first saw him in an Oxi-Clean commercial, but he grew on me. Definitely seemed to be one of the good guys.
RIP.
From what I gathered from his Twitter, he was scheduled today for his 3rd hip replacement surgery. Would'nt he have gone through a physical before the scheduled the surgery?
@WearingBlue4BillyMays_GitEmSteveDave: My mom has had 3 hip replacements and has gone for physicals and bloodwork each time. I don't think they do a stress test before the surgery.
@mbgrabbe: Not really. If Billy truly wasn't wearing a seat belt, it would absolve them of responsibility, especially for a blown tire, which is usually a "accident" or "Act of Gods".
As for a pay off, he would also have to forge all the test results, and have it stand up to scrutiny, which gets harder.
Anyone who hasn't seen it, check out his interview from a week or so ago on tonightshow.com. Neat guy.
@missdona: I had knee surgery 3 months ago and I had a stress test with my cardiologist before I was cleared. Even though I am 29 and in good health all it takes is one little problem with your heart when you go under anesthesia to not wake up again.
@mbgrabbe: "Does anyone know if this sort of thing happens often? Dying of a heart attack in your sleep?"
All the time. Your body doesnt give a shit when it decided to close up you arteries.
@missdona: :) Yeah - you wouldn't want someone waiting for a hip replacement to spend 45 minutes on a treadmill at a strenuous pace...
I doubt a stress test is standard before a hip replacement.
@KyleOrton: I saw him on Tonight with Conan. Besides seeing him on OxyClean and Kaboom infomercials, I didn't know anything about him. He was real easy going and able to laugh at himself with Conan. He seemed like a real good guy.
He even played along when Conan brought out a Sham Wow. I laughed so hard.
RIP Billy Mays.
KINGPSYZ HERE WITH HIS OWN THEROY ON THE DEATH OF BILLY MAYS...
I think it's likely the jolt of you know THE FUCKING TIRES EXPLODING DURING LANDING might have caused the heart attack and his weakened heart couldn't stand it.
@Jim Topoleski: Hmmm, I don't think I can just ask ask a doc for a stress test and get one. Unless I have some symptoms. At least with US health insurance involved...
@Hoss: Yeah, if you're in another country, you can ask for one at 40, and should eventually get an appointment by around 45.
No shit.
Not to be an ass, but the guy was obviously high stress.
@Hoss: That's not true. You can tell your doctor that you plan to start an exercise regimen and you are concerned about your cardiac fitness. My insurance paid for my EKG test after I told my doctor I'm training for my first Ironman. Preventative tests are almost always easy to approve.
I was gonna guess either this or an aneurysm.
Damn you heart disease!!!!
@mbgrabbe: I would think that it would happen a lot since sleep apnea is associated with heart attacks.
@Conrad: I know it's the internet and I've gotten used to random people offering uninformed opinions, but this doesn't even make sense.
The guy was incredibly successful at something he liked a whole lot and had a personality that held nothing back. I bet he had a whole lot less stress than your average joe.
no mention of too many big city sliders! cant be good press.
@JCWhitless: I AGREE. HE SEEMED LIKE A NICE GUY AND IT'S A SHAME THAT HE DIED SO SUDDENLY. HE REALLY SEEMED TO LOVE DOING WHAT HE DID AND IT SHOWED. I SHOULD GO BUY SOME MIGHTY PUTTY TO REMEMBER HIS LIFE.
@DreamTheEndless: Also, a stress test won't always find a problem that is going to kill you so soon. They only show that there is a chance.
@Eyebrows McGee (now with more baby!): I WAS ALWAYS STRANGELY DRAWN TO HIS INFORMERCIALS. THERE WAS SOME STRANGE APPEAL TO HIS CHARACTER. ONE TIME I BOUGHT ONE OF THE PRODUCTS HE WAS HAWKING AND IT ACTUALLY WORKED NICELY. I WAS IMPRESSED.
@ironchef: That's exactly right. Generally you don't need to make up a story either. I know my docs offer that sort of thing at 40 as a comprehensive physical exam for people turning that age.
GREENUNICORNS HERE OFFERING MY CONDOLENCES TO HIS FAMILY AND FRIENDS. I WAS ONLY MARGINALLY FAMILIAR WITH HIS WORK, BUT CERTAINLY LIKED HIM A LOT BETTER THAN THE GUY WHO PUNCHED THE HOOKER.
REST IN PEACE, LOUD BUDDY.
@korybing: My money was on chopped up Sham-Wow's that were sprinkled in his food in an attempt to dehydrate him from the inside.
@NotYou007: No kidding, I hated him until that show came out. At least now we know he was actually a pretty decent guy that just did his job well. He will be missed.
@Hoss: generally every family has a history of heart disease, which most insurances take as a reason why a stress test becomes a necessary test over a unnecessary one.
@KyleOrton: Yelling for a living isn't stress free. Emotional stress, and physical stress are two different things. Exerting physical stress on your body all the time usually leads to heart problems.
People really only die of two things, heart problems or pneumonia.
I will say though, that what Pitchmen taught me is that I'd rather hang out with Sully than Billy. As passionate and skilled as he is, he did come off as a bit of a drama queen at times.
@JPinCLE:
The general rule of thumb that I try to follow is, if you feel ill after sustaining a blow to the head, see a doctor.
@Conrad: Yelling for three hours a week isn't stressful. Do you really think he went around 40 hours a week yelling?
And how long has yelling been stressful? Granted, stressful things may make you yell, but that isn't the case here.
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RIP Billy Mays... I miss you already!
@WearingBlue4BillyMays_GitEmSteveDave: Oh please, not that again. I never had problems getting appointments in Canada.
@DreamTheEndless: There are other ways to do stress tests. My husband is in a wheelchair and he has had one. They give you IV medication that simulates exercise.
I HATE TO ADMIT IT BECAUSE HE DROVE ME NUTS WITH ALL THE YELLING, BUT I THOUGHT HE WAS KIND OF COOL.
THIS IS REALLY SAD NEWS. MY THOUGHTS GO OUT TO HIS FAMILY. I AM TYPING IN ALL CAPS IN HIS HONOR.