— Keith Crisco, a former state secretary of commerce and congressional candidate, died of heart disease, not of injuries suffered in a May fall at his home, according to an autopsy report released Tuesday.

Crisco, 71, was battling Clay Aiken for the Democratic nomination in the 2nd Congressional District when he died May 12 at his Randolph County home.

An autopsy determined that Crisco suffered from hypertensive cardiovascular disease and severely clogged arteries, and the medical examiner ruled heart disease as the cause of death.

Initial reports of Crisco's death noted he tripped and hit his head on a walkway outside his home, but the autopsy report notes that he suffered only minor injuries to his scalp in the fall.

Crisco was state Commerce Department secretary under former Gov. Beverly Perdue. He served as an Asheboro City Council member from 2003 to 2009 and was a member of the local school board in the 1980s.