Actor Leslie Jordan death

Leslie Jordan died of sudden cardiac dysfunction and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease in a car crash in October. Experts explain these heart ...

[Marietta Ambrose, MD, MPH](https://www.pennmedicine.org/providers/profile/marietta-ambrose), board-certified cardiologist and associate clinical professor of medicine at Penn Medicine, tells SELF. (After all, heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States.) “This affects potentially all adults as they get older, especially people over the age of 50,” [atherosclerosis](https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/atherosclerosis)) is characterized by a buildup of fatty deposits called plaque in the walls of the arteries, according to the [American Heart Association](https://www.heart.org/en/health-topics/cholesterol/about-cholesterol/atherosclerosis) (AHA). The heart attack can then trigger sudden cardiac arrest—one type of dysfunction—which will cause someone to lose consciousness and crash.” When this plaque buildup develops in the arteries of the heart, it’s called coronary artery disease, which is the most common form of [heart disease](https://www.self.com/health-conditions/heart-disease) in the United States, Dr. The coroner’s report listed atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease as a secondary cause of death, and determined that Jordan died of “natural” causes.