British singer George Michael died of natural causes, an inquest has found, confirming previous reports of a heart condition.

The 53-year-old died of "dilated cardiomyopathy with myocarditis and fatty liver".

"The investigation is being discontinued and there is no need for an inquest or any further enquiries," senior coroner Darren Salter said in a statement.

According to the British Heart Foundation, dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is "a disease of your heart muscle where it becomes stretched and thin".

This means that it is unable to efficiently pump blood.

Possible causes for the disease include viral infections, high blood pressure, problems with heart vales, excessive amounts of alcohol and pregnancy.

The post-mortem had been deemed "inconclusive" by Thames Valley Police in December, with officers adding at the time his death was "still being treated as unexplained but not suspicious".

The star was found dead at his home in Oxfordshire on Christmas Day.

His partner, Fadi Fawaz, said he found the singer dead in bed when he arrived to wake him.

His publicist also confirmed at the time there were no suspicious circumstances.

Michael was born Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou in 1963.

He sold more than 100 million albums, firstly as a member of Wham!, then as a solo artist.