Beloved comedian and voice actor Gilbert Gottfried was diagnosed with a heart condition before his death, his longtime friend and publicist Glenn Schwartz said.
In a statement, Schwartz confirmed that Gottfried died of recurrent ventricular tachycardia due to type 2 myotonic dystrophy. Ventricular tachycardia is defined by the Mayo Clinic as "a heart rhythm problem (arrhythmia) caused by irregular electrical signals in the lower chambers of the heart."
The performer — revered for his irreverent and shocking style of comedy — also had myotonic dystrophy, a muscular disease characterized by an inability to relax muscles after they contract. According to the Mayo Clinic, muscles in the face and neck are typically the first areas affected.
