American Pickers Star Frank Fritz's Cause of Death Revealed

Frank Fritz’s cause of death has been confirmed.

The American Pickers star, who died Sept. 30 at age 60, passed away as a result of “late sequela of cerebral infarction,” also known as a stroke, according to a death certificate obtained by TMZ.

According to the outlet, Fritz’s fatal stroke was caused by cerebral vascular disease, which causes problems with blood flow in the brain. The reality star also suffered from aortic stenosis—which affects blood flow from the heart to the rest of the body—as well as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, both of which also contributed to his death.

Fritz appeared on the History Channel series—which saw him road trip across America collecting rare artifacts—for over a decade before his exit was confirmed in 2021 amid a falling out between him and his co-star Mike Wolfe. At the time, Fritz said his longtime friend didn’t check up on him as he dealt with medical problems.

“I haven’t talked to Mike in two years,” he told The Sun in 2021. “He knew my back was messed up, but he didn’t call me up and ask how I was doing. That’s just how it is.”

The two antique collectors eventually appeared to resolve their differences, with Wolfe confirming the news of Fritz’s death in a social media post Oct. 1.

“What you’ve seen on TV has always been what I have seen, a dreamer who was just as sensitive as he was funny,” Wolfe wrote in a tribute shared on Instagram. “The same off camera as he was on, Frank had a way of reaching the hearts of so many by just being himself.”

He continued, “Before the show we would take off together to places we never knew existed with no destination in mind and just the shared passion to discover something interesting and historic.”

Wolfe also noted that he was with Fritz at the time of his death, writing, “We’ve been on countless trips and shared so many miles and I feel blessed that I was there by his side when he took one last journey home.”