Billy Mays Probably Died of Heart Disease

Billy Mays likely died of heart problems, according to preliminary autopsy results. In a press conference Monday, medical examiner Vernard Adams said Mays “had an enlarged heart, a thickening of the wall of the ventricle which takes blood to the heart.”

The TV pitchman died from pulmonary embolism, the autopsy showed. Final results from the autopsy are due in several weeks.

Mays, 50, was found dead in his Tampa home by his wife on Sunday morning. On Saturday, Mays was on board a U.S. Airways flight that had a rough landing at Tampa International Airport after the plane’s front tires blew out upon landing. After getting off the plane, Mays told reporters he hit his head in the rocky landing, sparking speculation Monday that he could have died of a head injury.

The coroner says there were no signs of internal or external head injuries.

Mays was made famous by his infomercials for Oxiclean and Orange Glo. He and fellow pitchman Anthony Sullivan are featured on the new Discovery Channel reality show ‘Pitchmen.’ The show, which debuted in April 2009, followed Mays and Sullivan as they sold new products through direct response marketing.

“The news of Billy's death came as a total shock to me. I'm devastated,” Sullivan told People magazine Sunday night.

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