NYC checking woman's body for Ebola after she dies of heart attack

Out of "an abundance of caution," New York City Health Department officials are looking into whether a woman who traveled to the city from Guinea recently and died of an apparent heart attack in Brooklyn Tuesday had contracted the Ebola virus.

Officials said that a woman, who showed no signs of the virus, had arrived from one of the West African countries where the virus has taken hold. She later had a heart attack while in a hair salon on Belmont Avenue in Brownsville, according to an online report by WABC-TV.

The woman, whom officials would not identify, was pronounced dead on the scene. Her remains will be tested for exposure to the virus and the results are expected Wednesday.

"Earlier today, an individual who came to the . . . [United States] 18 days ago from one of four West African countries with ongoing Ebola transmission died suddenly of an apparent heart attack," a statement from Health Department spokeswoman Jean Weinberg said.

"Before death, this individual showed no symptoms of Ebola," she added. "However due to travel history within the 21-day incubation period and an abundance of caution, an Ebola test will be performed on this individual's remains. Test results are expected early tomorrow morning."

The report said the woman had been on a list of 350 people who were being monitored for Ebola.