Author: Adam Taylor, Professor of Anatomy, Lancaster University

Oscar-winning actor Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead, along with their pet dog, at their home in Santa Fe, New Mexico in February 2025, sparking intense online speculation about the cause of death. In March, New Mexico’s chief medical examiner, Dr Heather Jerrell, announced that Hackman, who was in the advanced stages of Alzheimer’s disease, died from hypertensive and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease – a combination of high blood pressure and a buildup of plaque in the arteries. Arakawa, however, died around a week before her husband from hantavirus pulmonary syndrome – an infection transmitted to humans…