<\/p>\n
An official cause of death for actor-producer Patrick Muldoon has been confirmed. <\/p>\n
The \u201cMelrose Place\u201d and \u201cDays of Our Lives\u201d veteran suffered a myocardial infarction \u2014 a heart attack \u2014 according to a death certificate reviewed by People<\/a>. Muldoon, 57, died April 19 at his Beverly Hills home. <\/p>\n Muldoon\u2019s sister, Shana Muldoon Zappa, told TMZ<\/a> that his girlfriend found him unconscious on the bathroom floor when he didn\u2019t return promptly after having his morning coffee and going to take a shower. <\/p>\n Pulmonary embolism and hereditary coagulopathy \u2014 an arterial blockage in the lungs and issues with blood clotting either too much or too little \u2014 contributed to his death, People said. <\/p>\n Muldoon, who was from San Pedro, played football in high school and at USC, where he acquired two Rose Bowl rings. He grew up in \u201ca family of lifeguards,\u201d which he described to The Times in 2012<\/a> as \u201csuch a competitive athletic environment.\u201d His smaller size, however, led him to consider acting as a career rather than pro ball after he got run over \u201ca lot\u201d by the late linebacker Junior Seau<\/a>, who spent two decades in the NFL after finding stardom with the Trojans<\/a>.<\/p>\n Even so, as Muldoon went on to star in movies including \u201cStarship Troopers,\u201d physical activity remained a big part of his life. <\/p>\n \u201cI got into boxing and martial arts because after football you go through a bit of a depression. Once football is over, it\u2019s over forever, and I really missed having a sport, having something competitive to do,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n Then there was the Hollywood fear factor to motivate him.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen you get a [\u2018Days of Our Lives\u2019] script and it says \u2018five days from now Austin takes his shirt off,\u2019 fear is the motivator. So you\u2019ll be hitting your gut and training hard, but it\u2019s also a wake-up call to diet,\u201d he told The Times.<\/p>\n