Autopsy: Grand Valley Student Had Heart Condition

ALLENDALE (WWJ/AP) - Authorities in west Michigan now know what caused the death of a Grand Valley State University student who collapsed during a pick-up basketball game on campus.

An autopsy has found a chronic heart condition that had apparently gone undetected killed 21-year-old Shane Peoples-Welch of Saginaw.

The school says police were called to the Allendale Campus Recreation Center about 6 p.m. Tuesday after Peoples-Welch fainted. Fieldhouse staff performed CPR and police officers called to the scene used an on-site defibrillator, but were unable to revive the student.

The Grand Rapids Press and The Holland Sentinel say an autopsy found that he had a thickening of his heart muscle, a condition called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

Peoples-Welch was a junior who was working part-time at the school's Pew Campus security. He was studying public administration in the College of Community and Public Service.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.