BB King died after series of mini strokes

BB King's physician and the coroner in Las Vegas say the 89-year-old blues legend died of a series of small strokes attributable to his longstanding battle with type 2 diabetes.

Dr Darin Brimhall and Clark County Coroner John Fudenberg say the medical term for the cause of death is multi-infarct dementia.

It's sometimes referred to as MID, and is also called vascular dementia.

Dementia is a permanent loss of brain function that occurs with certain diseases, including diabetes.

It usually affects adults over age 55, and can affect memory, thinking, language and judgment.

Brimhall says King's strokes resulted from reduced blood flow as a consequence of chronic diabetes - or unhealthy fluctuations in blood sugar levels.

King was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes many years ago.