Whitney Houston was one of the most famous and accomplished vocalists in the music industry, with remarkable contributions to modern tunes.
She died on February 11, 2012, at the age of 48 as she was found unresponsive in a bathtub at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, just one day before the Grammy Awards at that time.
Official Cause of Death:
The Los Angeles County Coroner ruled her death as 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 as well as reduced 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 widely accepted medical explanation is that the cocaine use and heart disease triggered a cardiac event or loss of consciousness that made Whitney became submerged in the bathtub.
Whitney Houston subsequently drowned while incapacitated and water found in her lungs confirmed she was alive at the time of submersion, indicating drowning was the final cause of death.