Rik Mayall died from a sudden heart failure (acute cardiac event) at his home in Barnes, London, after returning from his usual morning run on June 9, 2014. Despite surviving a serious quad bike accident in 1998 that left him with epilepsy, his death was due to this acute cardiac incident, not believed to be a heart attack by his wife at the time, but later confirmed as heart failure. He was 56 years old.