Andy Irons - The Autopsy Report

Australia Surfing Life Mag has obtained a full copy of the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s autopsy report on Andy Irons’s death. The report makes it clear why Tarrant County’s medical examiners included “acute mixed drug ingestion” as a secondary cause of death.

This finding was disputed by a forensic pathologist, Dr Vincent Di Maio, who reviewed the autopsy report on behalf of the Irons family prior to its official release.

Chief Medical Examiner Nizam Peerwani picked out cocaine and methadone as two drugs with the potential to affect the heart’s function. Both were found in AI’s system, along with traces of methamphetamine and two different sedative drugs, generic versions of Xanax and Ambien. Both the latter are commonly available in the USA via prescription.

According to ME Peerwani, methadone use can result in serious heart arrhythmia, which can degenerate into ventricular fibrillation. As well, he wrote: “It is well established that cocaine has cardiotoxic effects. Acute doses of cocaine suppress myocardial contractility, reduce coronary calibre (vasospasm) thereby reducing coronary bloodflow, induce electrical abnormalities in the heart, and increase heart rate and blood pressure. These effects will decrease myocardial oxygen supply in the face of increasing demands due to rise in heart rate and blood pressure thereby inducing myocardial ischemia and/or infarction.”

Primary and underlying cause of death remained AI’s hidden heart disease, a 70-80% blockage of the descending coronary artery, one of the heart muscle’s main blood suppliers.

No signs of dengue fever, nor of the flu AI was said to have been suffering in Puerto Rico, were found by the examiners.

The report was under an injunction and was not due to be released until June 20. However, Tarrant Country Assistant District Ashley Fourt said the injunction had been relaxed “upon consent of the deceased’s family”.