--- title: Gene Hackman Died of Heart Disease, His Wife Died of Hantavirus | TIME description: Actor Gene Hackman died of heart disease a full week after his wife died from hantavirus in their New Mexico hillside home, likely unaware aware that she was dead because he was in the advanced stages of Alzheimer’s disease, authorities revealed Friday. canonical: https://time.com/video/6lSm8AlX/ og:title: Gene Hackman Died of Heart Disease, His Wife Died of Hantavirus og:description: Actor Gene Hackman died of heart disease a full week after his wife died from hantavirus in their New Mexico hillside home, likely unaware aware that she was dead because he was in the advanced stages of Alzheimer’s disease, authorities revealed Friday. og:url: https://time.com/video/6lSm8AlX/ og:image: https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/6lSm8AlX/poster.jpg?width=720 og:type: video.other twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Gene Hackman Died of Heart Disease, His Wife Died of Hantavirus twitter:description: Actor Gene Hackman died of heart disease a full week after his wife died from hantavirus in their New Mexico hillside home, likely unaware aware that she was dead because he was in the advanced stages of Alzheimer’s disease, authorities revealed Friday. twitter:image: https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/6lSm8AlX/poster.jpg?width=720 --- * U.S. # Gene Hackman Died of Heart Disease, His Wife Died of Hantavirus > Sponsored content. 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They are at time.com/newsletters and are separate from a paid subscription. ## Video: Gene Hackman Died of Heart Disease, His Wife Died of Hantavirus [Watch (HLS stream): Gene Hackman Died of Heart Disease, His Wife Died of Hantavirus](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/6lSm8AlX.m3u8) (3:18)  _Published 2025-03-08. Actor Gene Hackman died of heart disease a full week after his wife died from hantavirus in their New Mexico hillside home, likely unaware aware that she was dead because he was in the advanced stages of Alzheimer’s disease, authorities revealed Friday._ --- Mar 8, 2025 1:20 AM UTC --- ## More From This Series [All Videos](https://time.com/video/) [Gene Hackman, Wife Betsy Arakawa and Their Dog Were Dead for Some Time, Warrant Shows](/video/qWI6CuQR/) ### Gene Hackman, Wife Betsy Arakawa and Their Dog Were Dead for Some Time, Warrant Shows [Sandra Day O'Connor, First Woman on the Supreme Court, Announces Early Stages of Dementia and Possible Alzheimer's Disease](/video/KVW41L8O/) ### Sandra Day O'Connor, First Woman on the Supreme Court, Announces Early Stages of Dementia and Possible Alzheimer's Disease [Alzheimer's New Hope](/video/Dz6EZRwJ/) ### Alzheimer's New Hope --- ## Transcript The cause of death for Miss Betsy Hackman, aged 65 years, is hantavirus pulmonary syndrome. The manner of death is natural. Autopsy, examination and full body postmortem CT demonstrated no findings of trauma internally or externally, with microscopic findings consistent with hantavirus pulmonary syndrome. Testing for carbon monoxide was negative. There were no other significant natural disease findings. Pills present on scene or thyroid medication which were being taken as prescribed and is not currently a concern for contributory cause of death. The cause of death for Mr. Gene Hackman, aged 95 years, is hypertensive and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, with Alzheimer's disease as a significant contributory factor. Autopsy, examination and a full body Postmortem CT examination demonstrated no acute findings of internal or external trauma and showed severe heart disease, including multiple surgical procedures involving the heart. Evidence of prior heart attacks and severe changes of the kidneys due to chronic high blood pressure. Testing for hantavirus was negative. Testing for carbon monoxide was negative. Additionally, there were no autopsy findings concerning for hantavirus infection. There is no reliable scientific method to accurately determine the exact time or date of death. Mr. Heckman's initial pacemaker data revealed cardiac activity on February 17th, with subsequent pacemaker interrogation demonstrating an abnormal rhythm of atrial fibrillation on February 18th, which was the last record of heart activity. Based on this information, it is reasonable to conclude that Mr. Hackman probably died around February 18th. Based on the circumstances, it is reasonable to conclude that Miss Hackman passed away first, with February 11th being the last time that she was known to be alive. The mortality rate of the hantavirus strain in the southwest is about 38 to 50%. The hantavirus strains in the United States are not transmissible from person to person. Mr. Hackman showed evidence of advanced Alzheimer's disease. I'm not aware of what his normal daily functioning capability was. He was in a very poor state of health. He had significant heart disease. And I think ultimately that is what resulted in his in his death. The question was, was he aware that Mr. Hackman had died? And I think that question is difficult to answer, but I can tell you that he was in an advanced state of of Alzheimer's. 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