The sudden and tragic death of Columbus Crew midfielder Kirk Urso last month was caused by a genetic heart defect.
That determination was revealed on Friday after details of Urso's autopsy were released. The announcement provides some closure after the shocking passing of a young player so beloved in the American soccer community.
Urso died of cardiac arrest on Aug. 5th in Columbus after losing consciousness at a local bar. According to the coroner, Urso died of arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy, a rare genetic condition that Urso was unaware of.
The coroner put to rest any notion that Urso's death was somehow tied to the fact he was out drinking at a Columbus bar.
“My job is to determine the major cause of death,” Franklin County coroner Jan Gorniak told the Columbus Dispatch. “That blood-alcohol did not contribute to his cause of death.”