Robin Cook died of heart disease

Last updated at 15:52 09 August 2005


Former Foreign Secretary Robin Cook died of hypertensive heart disease, the Crown Office said today. The announcment followed a post-mortem examination at the Raigmore Hospital in Inverness.

Mr Cook, 59, collapsed while walking in the Highlands on Saturday and was pronounced dead after being airlifted to hospital.

A Crown Office statement said: "The procurator fiscal for Tain and Dornoch can confirm that a post-mortem examination following the death of Robin Cook MP has established the cause of death as hypertensive heart disease.

"Next of kin has been informed of the cause of death, and a death certificate has now been issued."

High blood pressure

Hypertensive heart disease is a late complication of high blood pressure affecting the heart.

The high blood pressure increases the workload of the heart and over time this can cause thickening of the heart muscle.

As the heart continues to pump against the raised blood pressure, the left ventricle becomes enlarged, and the amount of blood pumped by the heart goes down.

According to the US-based Medline Plus website, hypertensive heart disease is the leading cause of illness and death from hypertension.

In Britain, medical experts say hypertensive heart disease is the most common cause of heart failure after coronary heart disease due to smoking, alcohol and obesity.

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