Getty suffered from serious medical condition, court papers say

LOS ANGELES - Andrew Getty, an heir to the Getty oil fortune who was found dead at his Hollywood Hills home Tuesday, suffered from a serious medical condition that put him at "grave risk of substantial and irreparable injury or death," according to court documents.

The 47-year-old did not specify what his condition was in the documents, which were filed March 16 in support of a restraining order he sought against a former girlfriend. But he said that his doctors had advised "that heated arguments can cause my blood pressure to rise dangerously," putting him at "serious risk."

Getty said he was diagnosed with the condition in the fall of 2013.

Police said they chose to perform a full investigation Tuesday night at his Hollywood Hills mansion because Getty was found in his bathroom surrounded by significant amounts of blood.

Police and medical officials determined the blood was not the result of a crime but rather related to some type of medical problem. A law enforcement source said Getty was naked from the waist down. "He had a whole plethora of medical issues," LAPD Capt. William Hayes said. "We believe it is a natural-caused death."

Investigators recovered prescription medication and learned that the man had not been feeling well in recent months, coroner's spokesman Ed Winter said. A physician's appointment had been scheduled for Wednesday.

A time of death has not been determined, but a preliminary investigation suggests foul play was not involved, authorities said. A security hold - a directive from detectives to the coroner's office not to publicly disclose further details about a case - has been placed on Getty's coroner's file.

In San Francisco, Ann and Gordon Getty confirmed their son's death in a statement in which they asked for privacy during an "extremely difficult time."

A woman who was described as a friend of Getty's discovered the body and called 911 about 2:18 p.m., officials said. A law enforcement source said there was no immediate indication that she was involved in Getty's death.