Medical examiner's report says wrestling star died natural death

MINNEAPOLIS - World Wrestling Entertainment star Eddie Guerrero died of natural causes related to heart disease, while past steroid use and the use of narcotic pain medication may have been contributing factors, officials said Thursday.

Guerrero, 38, died from "natural causes related to arteriosclerotic heart disease," which is a hardening and narrowing of the arteries that supply the heart with blood and oxygen, the medical examiner's report said.

Guerrero also had an enlarged heart and other enlarged organs related to a history of anabolic steroid use, said Dr. Kathryn Berg, the assistant chief medical examiner in Hennepin County who conducted the autopsy.

Guerrero also had recently used narcotic pain medication.

"They were contributing conditions," Berg said. "When you have larger organs, et cetera, your body works a little bit harder to maintain your normal physiologic state."

Guerrero, a star of "WWE Smackdown!" died Nov. 13 in Minneapolis, where he was supposed to film a show. His body was found on the floor of his hotel room after he failed to respond to a wakeup call.

Guerrero's widow, Vickie Guerrero, said last month in report on the WWE's Web site that her husband died from heart failure, and that the heart disease was due to past drinking and drug abuse combined with an aggressive workout regimen.

After Eddie Guerrero's death, WWE said it would start random drug testing to detect illicit drugs, steroids and prescription drug abuse among its performers.