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George Michael died of natural causes, a coroner has confirmed.
The Wham! singer suffered a dilated cardiomyopathy with myocarditis and fatty liver, Darren Salter, the senior coroner for Oxfordshire, ruled.
The 53-year-old was found dead at his Oxfordshire home in Goring-on-Thames on Christmas Day. An initial post-mortem examination was “inconclusive”.
The coroner’s statement said: “As there is a confirmed natural cause of death, being dilated cardiomyopathy with myocarditis and fatty liver, the investigation is being discontinued and there is no need for an inquest or any further enquiries.”
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The statement concluded: “No further updates will be provided and the family requests the media and public respect their privacy.”
Dilated cardiomyopathy is a disease of the heart muscle where it becomes stretched and thin, meaning it is unable to pump blood around the body efficiently.
In many cases, the disease is inherited, but viral infections, uncontrolled high blood pressure, excessive drinking or existing heart problems can be a factor.
Born Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou in East Finchley, London, in 1963, Michael formed the pop duo Wham! and became one of Britain’s biggest pop stars of the 1980s.
The coroner ruling has disproved claims made by Michael’s friend Andros Georgiou that the singer overdosed.
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