Hulk Hogan's secret health battle revealed as cause of death is confirmed

Hulk Hogan's autopsy has revealed that the WWE legend had a history of leukemia CLL, a form of cancer that affects white blood cells.

The 71-year-old died on July 24, from acute myocardial infarction, commonly known as a heart attack. The medical records also revealed that he suffered from atrial fibrillation, a common type of irregular heart rhythm characterized by a rapid and disorganized heartbeat.

Clearwater Police major Nate Burnside shared during a press conference that Hulk was already "experiencing serious medical-related issues" as soon as he was brought into the hospital.

On the day of his death, 911 was called from his home in Clearwater Beach, Florida at 9.51am. Police and medics both arrived, and EMTs spent 30 minutes attempting to revive Hulk before he was taken to the hospital and pronounced dead.

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However, although there had been reports in June that his health had deteriorated, his passing shocked his close friends.

Former on-screen manager and longtime friend Jimmy Hart told PEOPLE: "I called [Hogan] on Wednesday night, and then Thursday morning is when everything took place. So just overnight it all happened, but it was so positive the day before."

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His wife Sky Daily, who he married in 2023, denied recent speculation that he was in a coma. 

Hulk was a veteran professional wrestler known for loving bandanas, his massive physique, and horseshoe mustache.

In the 1980s, he helped usher in the decades' professional wrestling boom, and in the 1990s began to pursue a career in film and television, appearing in projects including Rocky III, Suburban Commando, No Holds Barred, and Gremlins 2: The New Batch.

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In 1983 he married Linda Claridge, with whom he shares two kids, daughter Brooke Hogan, 37, and son Nick Hogan, 34. They divorced in 2009 after Linda claimed he cheated on her, allegations he denied.

He married Jennifer McDaniel in December 2010, though they divorced in 2022, before he met and married wife Sky, 45, in 2023.

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In recent years he had been estranged from his daughter Brooke, who rejected Hulk and Sky's wedding invitation back in 2023.

It was reported that she asked to be removed from his will, "because she didn’t trust those around him and didn’t want to be involved with the financial mess," according to TMZ.

"My dad’s blood runs through my veins," she said in a statement after his passing. "His eyes shine through my children. And our bond has never broken, not even in his final moments.

"We had a connection deeper than words, one that spanned lifetimes. I am so grateful that I knew the real version of him. Not just the one the world viewed through a carefully curated lens. We shared a quiet, sacred bond, one that could be seen and felt by anyone who witnessed us together."