Coroner: Chris Penn Died Accidentally

LOS ANGELES - Actor Chris Penn died accidentally from an enlarged heart and the effects of a mix of multiple medications, the county coroner's office said Monday.

Penn, 40, the younger brother of Sean Penn, was found dead in his Santa Monica condominium on Jan. 24, but the results of his autopsy and toxicology tests were not released until Monday.

The primary cause of death was "nonspecific cardiomyopathy," an oversized heart, with the "effects of multiple medication intake," according to a statement issued by the coroner's office.

"We know he had several prescriptions, including promethazine with codeine, which featured predominantly in his death," Harvey said.

Promethazine with codeine is known as a highly addictive prescription medication. Promethazine is an antihistamine that prevents vomiting, while codeine suppresses coughing and relieves pain, Harvey said.

"We don't know how much he ingested or when," Harvey said. "There are a lot of 'what ifs' to be factored in."

A full coroner's report with further details will be available in a few weeks, Harvey said.

Penn's heart weighed 700 grams, a few hundred grams more than an average heart. Harvey said Penn was not taking heart medication at the time of his death.

Penn appeared in such films as "Reservoir Dogs," "Rush Hour," "Starsky & Hutch" and "Corky Romano."

I find it hard to understand why his heart condition wasn't diagnosed and treated.

Unless he had an echo-cardiogram, which is not a normal routine test, it is possible to miss it. My nephew had a sports physical 2 weeks before he died and was cleared to play sports. He died on the baseball field during practice.

I was not given an echo-cardiogram until after I had been hospitalized for atrial flutter. And even that is not nearly as informative as a TEE proceedure (similar, but done by running the device down your throat and viewing the heart from the back).

My late father and I had/have similar heart conditions and yet the doctor for my overweight, 56 YO brother says for him there is no reason for any heart testing beyond a simple EKG. Not even a basic stress test. Burns me up major league.

Also, it may be that it had been recommended to Penn by doctors that he have heart related testing done and he simply ignored their advice. I've seen a lot of that. It's the "If I don't know about it, it can't hurt me" reasoning, usually referred to as denial.

Footloose, the gayest movie ever made in the history of motion pictures, hands down. "There was the torture chambers in Iraq, the gulags under Stalin, the death camps in Nazi Germany, but nothing could compare to the horror and oppression of dancing to "Let's Hear It for the Boy" being outlawed!...Footloose, coming to a theater near you!"

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.