CULT LEADER HAD DISEASE OF THE HEART.

Byline: Matthew Fordahl Associated Press 

Heaven's Gate leader Marshall Applewhite suffered from heart disease, and it may have sped up his death after he took a deadly mix of drugs and alcohol, the medical examiner said Friday.

Autopsy results confirm Applewhite and 38 followers killed themselves using a mix of drugs, alcohol and plastic bags. Only Applewhite has a contributory cause listed of ``constrictive coronary arteriosclerosis.''

It's not clear whether the charismatic cult leader knew that the arteries to his heart were narrowing - a frequent problem in older people that can lead to heart attacks. Applewhite was 65.

``The doctor who did the autopsy said she wanted to put on the natural disease he did have,'' said San Diego County Medical Examiner Brian Blackbourne, who added it ``maybe slightly'' contributed to his death.

Unless he had been checked by a doctor, the only indication of the disease would have been chest pains, Blackbourne said. There is no indication that he experienced the symptom.

Former cult members said Applewhite told them he was dying of liver cancer, although his autopsy showed no sign of that disease.

Blackbourne said arteriosclerosis could have sped up Applewhite's death because it may have limited the amount of oxygen to his heart. Like his followers, however, his death was attributed to a mix of drugs, booze and suffocation from a plastic bag probably slipped over his head.

Cult members believed they had to shed their ``containers'' before catching a spaceship that would take them to heaven. Their bodies were found in a rented Rancho Santa Fe mansion by former follower Richard Ford on March 26.

Instructions with their bodies indicated members mixed doses of the anti-seizure drug phenobarbital with pudding or applesauce and then drank vodka. The alcohol increased the potency of the drugs.

Blackbourne said a note recovered from the scene read, ``Use plastic bag to be sure.''

Only one plastic bag was found on a cult member. Susan Frances Strom, a Texas nurse whose blood also contained phenobarbital, alcohol and the painkiller hydrocodone, was apparently one of the last to die.

Nine plastic bags, however, were found behind the house with rubber bands around them, leading investigators to believe suffocation may have been used in the other cases, too.