The tallest man in the United States passed away Friday from heart disease at 38 years old.
The Star Tribune reported that Igor Vovkovinskiy was a bit more than 7 feet, 8 inches tall.
Vovkovinskiy was born in Ukraine in 1982, according to Ranfranz and Vine Funeral Home, where a memorial service is scheduled to be held Saturday.
He came to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, in 1989, according to the Star Tribune.
The man’s significant size was the result of a tumor pressing against his pituitary gland, leading to the secretion of abnormal levels of growth hormone, according to a “60 Minutes Australia” report.
The program had interviewed Vovkovinskiy in 2012.
“It’s unlikely that he’ll ever stop growing,” a doctor interviewed on the program said. “We’re using medications to try and slow the effects of that growth hormone down for him and to suppress that pituitary gland as much as we can. But unfortunately, yes, he, he continues to add height and he continues to add weight.”
Vovkovinskiy told the “60 Minutes Australia” interviewer that he was 7 feet, 8.33 inches tall.
“Looking at the world from my height, it’s, it’s a different experience every day. I always have to be thinking about, am I endangering my life? Nothing is built for my size so everything is a challenge,” Vovkovinskiy said.
Meet the tallest man in the world | 60 Minutes Australia
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