Family disputes Lance Reddick’s cause of death: ‘Wholly inconsistent with his lifestyle’

LOS ANGELES — The family and longtime attorney for “John Wick” and “The Wire” star Lance Reddick are disputing an uncorroborated death certificate that says the actor died of heart disease.

Attorney James E. Hornstein said that Reddick’s reported cause of death — ischemic heart disease and atherosclerotic coronary artery disease — is “not a result of an autopsy” and is “inconsistent with the facts known to the family.”

The medical conditions were first reported Thursday by TMZ, which obtained and posted a copy of the actor’s Los Angeles County death certificate listing the heart diseases as the immediate and underlying causes of the “Bosch” star’s death.

Reddick died March 17 at his home in Los Angeles at age 60. At the time, Hornstein stated that Reddick died of natural causes.

But in a Friday statement to the L.A. Times, Hornstein said that “no autopsy was performed” on Reddick and that, to his knowledge, “no medical examination of Lance during his lifetime ever indicated such conditions.”

Ischemic heart disease — also known as coronary artery disease or coronary heart disease — is defined as “heart problems caused by narrowed heart arteries,” which can lead to a heart attack, according to the American Heart Association. The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute describes atherosclerotic coronary artery disease as “plaque buildup in the arteries of your heart.”

Hornstein described Reddick as “the most physically fit person I’ve ever known,” saying that the “Fringe” and “Lost” actor worked out daily at his home gym, did “extensive cardio work” and contractually required having access to gym facilities when working away from home. He also said Reddick “ate as if a dietitian was monitoring his every meal.”

“The information appearing on the death certificate is wholly inconsistent with his lifestyle,” Hornstein said. “On behalf of [his wife] Stephanie Reddick, the death certificate information is not corroborated and is inconsistent with the facts known to the family.”