Celebrity Celebrity Deaths Sylvester Stallone's Son Died of Heart Disease Sage Stallone died of natural causes, not drugs, according to the autopsy By Howard Breuer Howard Breuer Howard Breuer is a former staff writer at PEOPLE. He left PEOPLE in 2014. People Editorial Guidelines Published on August 30, 2012 07:55PM EDT Photo: Albert L. Ortega/WireImage Heart disease, not drugs, was the major cause of Sage Stallone’s untimely death earlier this summer at age 36, the Los Angeles County coroner announced Thursday. After conducting an autopsy as well as a full toxicology screen, the coroner cited atherosclerotic coronary artery disease as the cause of death, and said that the drug test was negative except for a small, “sub-therapeutic” level of hydrocodone, more commonly known as Vicodin. The department’s full report is expected next week. Friends of the horror movie distributor and actor told PEOPLE that Sage lived a very different life from his famous father, avoiding the gym and consuming little more than junk food, soda and cigarettes. They also said he routinely took various prescription medications. Los Angeles police said they found large empty prescription bottles at Sage’s home on July 13 while investigating his death. Sage was laid to rest on July 21 in Los Angeles. Sylvester Stallone said after his son’s death, “It’s very, very tough. It’s a horrible situation, but time hopefully will heal, and you try to get through it.”