Erie County Coroner Lyell Cook has determined that 21-year-old Carly Combs of Corry died of natural causes.
Results of a recent autopsy revealed that Combs had increased levels of acetone in her system when she died April 14 at Corry Memorial Hospital, after suffering cardiac arrest earlier that morning in her Maple Street apartment.
Ketoacidosis was ruled as the official cause of Combs’ death, Cook said.
Cook said elevated levels of acetone, a chemical produced naturally in the body, pointed to ketoacidosis, a condition in which too many acids build up in the body, disrupting the body’s metabolic system.
“That leads to a massive derangement of electrolytes — potassium and sodium — the chemicals that run the heart,” Cook said. “That can cause arrythmia, which could cause death. Acetones build up in the system for any number of reasons, the most common one is undiagnosed diabetes.”
Cook said he had no knowledge that Combs had ever suffered from diabetes.
See the Journal's Tuesday, June 30th Edition for full story
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