American Football: Preliminary report says Reggie White died from lung ailment

The former two-time National Football League Defensive Player of the Year Reggie White, who passed away on Sunday, may have died because of a respiratory disease combined with other health problems, a preliminary autopsy report concluded yesterday.

The 43-year-old White most likely had a condition that affected the amount of air his lungs could hold, resulting in "fatal cardiac arrhythmia," Dr Mike Sullivan, the medical examiner for Mecklenburg County and a forensic pathologist, said. The report issued by Sullivan's office also said sleep apnea, a condition where a person inexplicably stops breathing during sleep, may have been a factor.

The report is a preliminary one; determining a final cause of death could take up to three months, Sullivan's office said. White had the disease, known as sarcoidosis, for several years, Keith Johnson, a spokesman for the family, said on Sunday. He described it as a respiratory ailment that affected his sleep.