Whitney Houston was one of the most famous and talented vocalists in the music industry, with notable contributions to modern melodies.
She died on February 11, 2012, at the age of 48, when she was found unconscious in a bathtub at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, just one day before the Grammy Awards at the time.
Official cause of death:
The Los Angeles County coroner ruled her death an accidental drowning, with contributing factors including atherosclerotic heart disease and cocaine use.
Medically, this meant that although she drowned, underlying physiological factors, particularly cardiovascular disease and substance abuse, played a significant role in her death.
Role of cocaine and heart disease:
Toxicology reports showed that Whitney had cocaine in her system, along with its metabolites, indicating recent use.
Consuming cocaine can cause cardiac arrhythmias (irregular heartbeat), increased heart rate and blood pressure, and decreased oxygen supply to the heart.
These effects, combined with atherosclerotic heart disease (narrowed coronary arteries), can lead to loss of consciousness or even cardiac arrest, which may have preceded the drowning.
Other substances detected:
Additional substances found in her system included marijuana, alprazolam (Xanax), cyclobenzaprine (Flexeril), and diphenhydramine (Benadryl).
However, the coroner determined that these did not directly contribute to her death.
The most commonly accepted medical explanation is that the cocaine use and heart disease caused a heart condition or loss of consciousness that left Whitney submerged in the bathtub.
Whitney Houston subsequently drowned while incapacitated and water in her lungs confirmed that she was alive at the time of submersion, indicating that drowning was the ultimate cause of death.
