On Nov. 8, Dwight Arrington Myers, otherwise known as popular '90s rapper Heavy D, collapsed, was rushed to the hospital and died. At the time of his death it was not clear what he died from — complications of recently diagnosed pneumonia, complications of a life of being morbidly obese, or something else. At the time of his death BET.com reported that he weighed 344 pounds, yet was working to lose weight and eat better.

Now, the Los Angeles County coroner's office confirmed in a report released this morning that Heavy D died from a pulmonary embolism — or a blood clot. The Los Angeles Times wrote:

The coroner's office found that Heavy D died of a blood clot in his lung. He also suffered from deep leg vein thrombosis and heart disease.

The blood clot was "most likely formed during an extended airplane ride," said Craig Harvey, chief of the Los Angeles County department of coroner. The rapper had recently returned from a trip to London.

It was also reported that Heavy D was medicating himself with cough syrup, but that had no impact on his clot or death.

A pulmonary embolism is a blockage in one of more arteries in the lungs. It's caused by blood clots that travel to your lungs from another part of your body — most commonly, your legs.

According to Mayo Clinic, common signs and symptoms include:

• Shortness of breath. This symptom typically appears suddenly, and occurs whether you're active or at rest.

• Chest pain. You may feel like you're having a heart attack. The pain may become worse when you breathe deeply, cough, eat, bend or stoop. The pain will get worse with exertion but won't go away when you rest.

• Cough. The cough may produce bloody or blood-streaked [mucus].

If you have any of these symptoms, please call 9-1-1.

Other signs and symptoms that can occur are:

— Wheezing
— Leg swelling, usually in only one leg
— Clammy or bluish-colored skin
— Excessive sweating
— Rapid or irregular heartbeat
— Weak pulse
— Lightheadedness or fainting

BET Health News - We go beyond the music and entertainment world to bring you important medical information and health-related tips of special relevance to Blacks in the U.S. and around the world.

(Photo: Kevin Winter/Getty Images)