Indonesian actor Abi Cancer, who mostly starred in action films, died on Sunday evening after suffering a heart attack. He was 44.

“My husband had a heart attack last night. When we took him to the ICU, his heart stopped,” Abi’s wife, Rita Wibowo, told the press in tears as quoted by kompas.com.

According to Rita, Abi discovered he was suffering from heart disease in October last year.

“Maybe because he was exhausted because of his shooting schedule. In October, we noticed that his heart did not beat normally,” Rita said. “When he went to a doctor December, we discovered that he had an enlarged heart and his heart valve was not normal — it was swollen.” 

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Abi was treated at a hospital in February after his heart stopped due to high cholesterol.

He was buried in Pondok Rangon cemetery in East Jakarta on Monday.

Abi was known as an actor that specialized in action films and TV series.

In 1990s, he starred in the second season of action series Wiro Sableng. He also had a role in action films The Raid and Roh Fasik.

The cause of Abi’s death, an enlarged heart or cardiomegaly, is usually caused by high blood pressure, coronary artery disease or valve problems. An enlarged heart is treatable when detected early, therefore, patients are advised to seek emergency medical care when they have symptoms such as chest pains, discomfort in their upper body, severe shortness of breath and fainting.

Enlarged heart risks can be reduced by practicing a healthy lifestyle such as eating nutritious foods, avoid smoking and alcohol and exercising regularly. (gis/kes)