News•May 31, 2018 2:59 PM ET•7,409 views

ex-Deicide, Obituary guitarist in coma after heart attack

Guitarist Ralph Santolla, a former member of Deicide and Obituary, is reportedly in a coma after suffering a heart attack earlier this week. Santolla's mother, Sue Santolla-Rocha, shared the news on Facebook today, stating:

"Ralph thought he had a spider bite on Saturday. Went to the hospital. It was not a spider bite; it was a blood clot. Tuesday night he fell and he had a heart attack. John Rocha gave him CPR until EMT arrived. His heart had stopped but they got him back. His visuals are stable but he is in a coma. He is on a ventilator, but he is breathing around it. He could breathe on his own, but they do not want to add additional strain to his body. He is in a coma. That is the main concern at this moment. They can fix everything else. "We are having as many of his friends as he can come and talk to him and play music. There has been a minimal movement, but some. It is ICU, but he is in a private room and they are letting anyone in and they can stay as long as they want. So please pray as he has people all over the world praying and if you can come and spend time with him. Please… he needs to get back from the place that he is in. I love you all... Let's just work on getting him out of the coma if we can."

Santolla, age 48, appeared on three Deicide albums, three Obituary albums, one Iced Earth album (as a guest), and briefly toured with Death, among other musical endeavors.