A rare coronary artery dissection caused the death of Kevin McCarthy of Robinson High School in Tampa.
By ELISABETH DYER
Published December 10, 2003
TAMPA - Autopsy results show that Robinson High School principal Kevin McCarthy died from a spontaneous coronary artery dissection, or a tear of the vessel wall in the heart, associate Medical Examiner Jacqueline Lee said Tuesday.
McCarthy, known for his healthy lifestyle, died suddenly on Nov. 16. He was 39.
"It is uncommon," said Lee, who performed the autopsy. "But we do see it on occasion."
The condition has no known cause and no warning signs, Lee said.
"It really is sudden, as it happened for him, very suddenly," she said.
McCarthy had taken his usual 5-mile run the morning he died. He was driving his family to 7:30 a.m. Sunday Mass at Christ the King Roman Catholic Church when he said he was about to black out. Despite his wife's attempts to revive him with CPR, doctors pronounced him dead at Tampa General Hospital a short time later.
A spontaneous coronary artery dissection is a rare form of a heart attack, said Joel Strom, director of the division of cardiovascular disease at the University of South Florida.
In his career, Strom said he has seen only one case of this form of heart attack, about 10 or 15 years ago.
"There's nothing you can do to prevent this," Strom said.
"It can occur in periods of stress and it can occur totally spontaneously."
McCarthy had no known health problems.
At Robinson, McCarthy was a dynamic leader, known for his involvement in school activities.
He was meticulous about what he ate and his exercise regimen, said David Fyfe, assistant principal at Robinson.
"He did everything the way you should," Fyfe said. "That's why it was such a shock."
