EDDIE VAN HALEN: Cause Of Death Revealed

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Eddie Van Halen's cause of death has been revealed. More than two months after the legendary VAN HALEN guitarist's passing, TMZ has obtained his death certificate, which reveals the immediate cause of death was a cerebrovascular event, such as a stroke. Pneumonia, the blood disorder myelodysplastic syndrome and lung cancer were also cited as underlying causes. The certificate also listed a number of other "significant conditions" that contributed to Eddie's death, including squamous cell carcinoma (skin cancer) of the head and neck, and atrial fibrillation, a condition that causes irregular heartbeat and elevates stroke risk. Eddie was cremated on October 28 — 22 days after he died. The ashes went to Eddie's son, 29-year-old Wolfgang Van Halen. One of Eddie's final wishes was reportedly for the ashes to be scattered off the coast of Malibu, California, and Wolfgang is expected to honor his dad's wishes. Eddie died at Providence Saint John's Health Center in Santa Monica, California. His wife, Janie, was by his side, along with Wolfgang and Alex, Eddie's brother and VAN HALEN drummer. After undergoing hip replacement surgery in 1999 due to a chronic joint problem, Eddie was diagnosed with mouth cancer in 2000 and had to have part of his tongue surgically removed. Declared "cancer-free" in 2002, he subsequently had to intermittently have "cancer cells scraped out of his throat after they migrated there." He later battled lung cancer and had been receiving radiation treatment in Germany. Things took a turn for the worse in early 2019 when Eddie got in a motorcycle accident. He was subsequently diagnosed with a brain tumor, and received gamma knife radiosurgery to treat the illness. During an appearance on "The Howard Stern Show" last month, Wolfgang discussed his father's condition during the last few years of his life. He said: "At the end of 2017, [Eddie] was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer. And the doctors were like, 'You have six weeks.'" Wolfgang confirmed TMZ's report that Eddie had sought alternative cancer treatments in Germany, and credited those visits with helping to add years to the guitarist's life. "Whatever the fuck they do over there, it's amazing because I got three more years with him," Wolfgang said. After Eddie's motorcycle accident, he "found out that he had a brain tumor," Wolfgang said. From there, "shit kept stacking up and stacking up. It just never let up." Following Eddie's death, fans left flowers at his childhood home on Las Lunas Street in Pasadena, California. Additional flowers, candles and fan mementos were placed on Allen Avenue where Eddie and Alex scratched their band's name into the wet cement of a sidewalk when they were teenagers. VAN HALEN was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 2007. Rolling Stone magazine ranked Eddie Van Halen No. 8 in its list of the 100 greatest guitarists.