Urso died of genetic heart condition

• by Soccer America , Sep 22, 2012

[MLS SPOTLIGHT] Columbus Crew rookie Kirk Urso died of arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy -- a rare, genetic condition that commonly causes sudden death in young people -- according to a coroner's report.

“He had a sudden cardiac death because of this condition,” Franklin County coroner Dr. Jan Gorniak told the Columbus Dispatch. “Sometimes the only presenting symptom for this is sudden cardiac death. He probably didn’t know he had an issue.”

Urso died on Aug. 5 after collapsing at a Columbus bar. He had a blood-alcohol level of 0.14 percent, but the presence of alcohol did not contribute his death.