Robert Kelker-Kelly’s cause of death has been revealed nearly four weeks after the Days of Our Lives actor died on Oct. 3 at the age of 62.
Kelker-Kelly died of arteriosclerotic heart disease, the Office of the Regional Medical Examiner in St. Charles, Mo., confirmed to People.
Atherosclerosis is a slow, progressive condition that may begin as early as childhood and is thought to start when the inner lining of the artery becomes damaged, according to the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada.
The damage can be caused by high blood pressure, high cholesterol and triglycerides in the blood, high levels of insulin in the blood from diabetes and chemicals from smoking tobacco, the organization notes.
The organization says that sometimes atherosclerosis causes no symptoms until it is advanced enough to block a large part of an important blood vessel. If a blockage occurs in an artery of the heart it will cause chest pain.
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As it progresses, atherosclerosis in the arteries of the heart may cause a heart attack or if it develops in the brain, it can cause a stroke.
The St. Peters Police Department told Variety and Deadline that they responded to a report of an unconscious male who was not breathing on Oct. 3.
Police said that he had reportedly complained of chest pain shortly before becoming unresponsive and the circumstances appeared consistent with a medical event, according to the outlets.
Kelker-Kelly’s wife, Allison Kelly, told police that she picked her husband up from Spirit Airport at approximately 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 3. While driving home, she said Kelker-Kelly complained of pain in his left arm and chest, People reports.
The actor reportedly asked his wife to pull over so he could vomit and when she asked whether he needed to go to the hospital, he decided he wanted to go home and rest instead.
Allison said that Kelker-Kelly continued to experience pain after returning home and asked his wife to bring him aspirin.
When she returned to the bedroom, she found her husband “unresponsive and not breathing,” according to a police report, obtained by People.
Authorities reportedly attempted life-saving measures at the scene but they were unsuccessful and Kelker-Kelly was pronounced dead at 9:09 p.m. on Oct. 3.
Kelker-Kelly was best known for his roles on Days of Our Lives, General Hospital and Another World.
He played Bo Brady on Days of Our Lives from 1992 to 1995, replacing actor Peter Reckell.
He made his acting debut in 1987 playing Sam Fowler in Another World.
After leaving the soap opera in 1990, he returned as Dr. Shane Roberts in 1996 and appeared on more than 400 episodes of Another World.
Kelker-Kelly also played Stavros Cassadine on Port Charles and General Hospital from 1997 until 2003. He later reprised the role on General Hospital from 2013-2014, which was his final onscreen role, according to IMDb.
In 1995, Kelker-Kelly shared the Hottest Soap Couple award at the Soap Opera Digest Awards with former Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Lisa Rinna, who played Billie Reed on Days of Our Lives from 1992-1995, before reprising the role several times.
Kelker-Kelly later became a professional pilot following his acting career and worked in the field from 2003 to 2015, Deadline reports.
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