B.B. King Died From Mini Strokes, Coroner Says (original) (raw)

May 16, 2015 12:10 PM EDT

B.B. King died after having a series of mini strokes stemming from his type 2 diabetes, the Associated Press reports.

The musician’s physician, Dr. Darin Brimhall, and Clark County Coroner John Fudenberg told the AP that King’s cause of death was multi-infarct dementia—also known as vascular dementia—a condition caused by a series of small strokes.

Brimhall attributed King’s strokes to the 89-year-old musician’s chronic diabetes, which caused reduced blood flow.

King was mourned this week by Barack Obama, Eric Clapton,Morgan Freeman and many more celebrities and musicians.

Read next: T Bone Burnett Remembers B.B. King: ‘He Conjured the Very Soul of Our Country’

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