Posted on 07/19/2006 4:38:42 PM PDT by Jean S
Enron Corp. founder Kenneth Lay had three severely clogged arteries and had experienced at least two heart attacks before he died, according to autopsy results released Wednesday.
The report blames severe coronary artery disease for Lay's death. It also said the autopsy showed Lay had suffered at least two previous heart attacks and had two stents implanted.
The Lays were vacationing near Aspen, Colo., when he died. The report, prepared by the coroner in Mesa County, Colo., said Lay was last seen alive by his wife on July 5 at 1 a.m., when he woke up and went into a bathroom.
Minutes later, she heard a "thump," and found him on the floor, the report said. He had vomited and showed signs of having a seizure. Linda Lay called paramedics, but Lay was pronounced dead on arrival at Aspen Valley Hospital.
Lay, 64, and former Enron chief executive Jeffrey Skilling were convicted May 25 of fraud and conspiracy for lying to investors and the public about the financial health of Enron before the energy company he founded collapsed in 2001.
He also was convicted of one count of bank fraud and three counts of lying to banks in a separate, non-jury trial before U.S. Judge Sim Lake stemming from his personal banking. Lay died insisting he'd committed no crimes, and planned to appeal.
Skilling, who now faces sentencing alone on Oct. 23, also aims to appeal and faces decades in prison.
Lay's death sparked myriad conspiracy theories on the Internet, some tongue-in-cheek, others questioning whether he faked his demise to avoid prison.
Sure it wasn't money stuffed into the arteries?
How did Cheney do that?
Just ask anybody over at DU.
While I'm in no way excusing what part of the fleecing of millions he was involved with, he was a dad and husband. There's a family that desperately misses him. I hope he had things sorted out with God before he died.
stress
Karl Rove's secret death ray leaves no traces.
Odd that he had suffered two previous heart attacks and never knew it.
The health care available at company expense for executives is the best in the world. Of course, he's been out of a job for six years, but it's hard to imagine that all this happened in that short of a time.
Oh, no, no, no. It's much more devious than that. Lay is secretly working for the Israelis deep inside Lebanon painting laser target signals on the homes of innocent Lebanese women and children for the Israeli Air Force.
Sometimes the best isn't always the best.
Certainly too much RICH food
Some heart attacks have minimal or no symptoms but one would think someone his age would have regular checkups that would have found this.
I may be mis-reading this, but the article didn't say that he didn't know about the previous heart attacks, did it?
He had two stent implants. Isn't that the treatment for some heart attacks?
He must have known he had heart trouble.
bump
Blame the usually poorly written article from the dying media. After the lead paragraph where it says he suffered two heart attacks, you have to read further to find he had two stents implanted. You can't tell from the article if he had the two heart attacks and then had the stents or if he had the two heart attacks and then died. Some patients will actually have a heart attack while the stent is being in-placed.
He knew of his cardiovascular condition. But he was told he had stable coronary disease and the stents were put in to prevent future heart attacks.
They obviously didn't work.
I didn't find anything in the article that claimed he hadn't known he'd had two previous heart attacks. The article said he had two stents implanted, which I'm assuming, shows he had some type of obstruction problem.
-PJ
Living in the Houston area, I am exposed to a lot more news stories about Enron and Ken Lay than the average bear.
It wasn't until the autopsy that there was any evidence that he'd suffered even one previous heart attack.
I'm sure he knew it. He had two stents inserted which is a procedure to open clogged arteries, usually after minor heart attacks.
They'll do anything to beat hard time, won't they?
My dad died at 62 and with his autopsy they found he had several previous heart attacks as well. None of us in the family ever knew he had them and my mom indicated he never complained about heart issues either.
He had regular checkups each year as well. Sometimes we think the medical world can find all this stuff, but often they do not.
RIP Dad!
stress....yes, my first thought was a broken heart. It does happen. Plus, the altitude makes some things even worse, healthwise.
Apparently he knew he had CAD as he had two stents. Some small heart attacks are silent. No uncommon at all. Sounds like he went into V-tach with the collapse and seizure activity. Most common cause of acute death in those with heart disease.
He had been diagnosed with the disease sometime in the 1990s. Mid, I think, I really didn't make it a memorable moment.
I remember him getting the stents around 2000. But I definitely remember the reports stating that it was stable coronary artery disease, and with the treatment of statins, he should be fine.
There never was a report in the Houston media of any prior heart attack, and that's not something that could have been kept quiet. The guy practically ran the city as the shadow mayor.
I'm just sad he didn't spend a single day in prison. I also really hope his family doesn't get a dime of his tainted money.
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