Igor Vovkovinskiy, the tallest man in the United States, has died, his mother confirmed in a Facebook post. He was 38 years old.
According to the Facebook post, Igor died on August 20 from heart disease.
Igor was born on September 18, 1982 in Ukraine, but moved to Rochester, Minnesota at the age of seven to receive treatment for pituitary gigantism at the Mayo Clinic.
The condition led to Igor standing at 6 feet tall by the time he was six. He would eventually grow to be 7 feet and 8 1/3 inches tall, which earned him the title as the tallest person in the U.S.
Over the years Igor appeared in several commercials and films, including Hall Pass.
In 2018, 60 Minutes Australia ran a piece on him that documented his life and explained his condition.
Igor’s abnormal height was caused by a tumor pressing against his pituitary gland, which caused too much somatotropin or growth hormone.
“Unfortunately, it’s in a location that makes it impossible to completely eliminate the tumor,” Dr. Gregory Garrison, his physician at the Mayo Clinic said.
“It’s unlikely that he’ll ever stop growing. We’re using medications to try to slow the effects of that growth hormone down.”
In 2019 he revealed that he needed surgery to fix an issue with his heart that he was born with.
‘I don’t how much longer I’m going to be in the hospital. For that matter, I don’t know what’s going to happen really for the rest of my life,’ he said in a YouTube video, according to the DailyMail.
On August 21, 2021, Igor’s mother shared that he had died from heart disease.
It breaks my heart when I hear someone has died at such a young age. Rest in peace Igor.
Please share and send your condolences to Igor’s friends and family.
