Cross posted on my blog
================
The preliminary autopsy support suggests that Reggie did die of respiratory failure. He apparently had two respiratory problems - sarcoidosis and sleep apnea. Sleep apnea may have contributed to death
White had the disease, known as sarcoidosis, for several years, family spokesman Keith Johnson said Sunday. He described it as a respiratory ailment that affected White's sleep.On its Web site, the American Lung Association describes sarcoidosis as a disease characterized by the presence of small areas of inflamed cells that can attack any organ of the body but is most frequently found in the lungs.
The cause of the disease, which is most common among blacks and white northern Europeans, is not known.
Sleep apnea causes people to stop breathing repeatedly -- in some cases, hundreds of times -- during their sleep.
Sarcoidosis is a well known granulomatous lung disease. Patients with sarcoidosis can have severe lung disease. It leads to a decrease in total lung capacity. That combined with sleep apnea probably led to decrease blood oxygen. This in turn probably lead to an arrythmia and sudden death.
This death is likely unavoidable. Perhaps the lung disease was much more severe than we knew. This death is unfortunate but it appears understandable.
