INVERNESS, Fla. — A Citrus High School football player died of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy after collapsing at football practice last fall, the released autopsy states.
The condition is one that affects the heart muscle, causing it to enlarge, according to the Cleveland Clinic. The thickening of the heart muscle may cause narrowing that can block or reduce blood flow.
Antonio Hicks was 16 years old when he collapsed on Sept. 28. He was rushed to Citrus Memorial Hospital, where he died. During his funeral, family and friends remembered Hicks as a football star who died too soon.
Hicks' parents, Lakesha Harrison and Henry Hicks, expressed gratitude over the number of people who had attended.
"I truly appreciate everybody. I love everybody for all the support for taking my baby under your wings," Harrison said.
The associate medical examiner wrote in the autopsy dated Sept. 29 that Hicks' heart also had myocyte disarray and ventricular hypertrophy, which the Cleveland Clinic notes that cells in the heart muscle appear disorganized and irregular.
Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy affects one in 500 Americans, it says.