Elvis Presley; Lisa Marie Presley.Photo:Sunset Boulevard/Corbis via Getty, Jeffrey Mayer/WireImage
Sunset Boulevard/Corbis via Getty, Jeffrey Mayer/WireImage
Lisa Marie Presley’snewly released autopsy reportshows unexpected similarities between her sudden death in January and that of her famous father,Elvis Presley, in 1977.
Lisa Marie, whodied on Jan. 12 at age 54, had been dealing with a number of health problems in the months leading up to her death just as Elvis had, including long-lasting fevers, nausea, abdominal pain and vomiting, according to the report.
But sheultimately died ofa “sequelae of a small bowel obstruction,” which developed after she underwent bariatric surgery several years ago (Such obstructions are known long-term complications of the weight-loss surgery).
While Elvis’ death certificate lists his cause of death as a heart attack, he, too, suffered similar problems; pathologists Dr. Eric Muirhead and Dr. Noel Florredo found evidence of severe and chronic constipation during a post-mortem examination, according toPBS.
Lisa Marie Presley at the Golden Globe Awards days before her death in January.Todd Williamson/NBC/NBC via Getty
The outlet also suggested that the King of Rock’s constipation issues may have contributed to his death, as he was sitting on the toilet when he died and “straining very hard to have a bowel movement — a maneuver that put a great amount of pressure on his heart and aorta.”
Presley had also suffered various medical issues leading up to his death; his uncle Vester Presley told PEOPLE in 1978 that the singer “was very sick for the last two years — liver problems, bad colon, enlarged heart.”
Elvis’ friend and physician Dr. George Nichopoulos said that Elvis died of hypertensive heart disease, with coronary artery heart disease as a contributing factor, according toThe New York Times.
When Lisa Marie was in the emergency room, she, too, suffered heart issues and had to have a temporary pacemaker implanted due to life-threatening heart rhythms, per her autopsy report. Her condition continued to decline until she eventually went into cardiac arrest and was pronounced dead 20 minutes later.
Elvis Presley in Las Vegas during a concert in December of 1975.Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
Both father and daughter also had various drugs in their systems when they died, though neither are thought to have contributed to their cause of death.
PEOPLE reported in 1980 that a toxicology report found at least eight different barbiturates and narcotics in Elvis’ bloodstream, though none were of a lethal dose, and the medical examiner did not believe them a contributing factor to his death.
Lisa Marie’s toxicology reports yielded similar results; she had oxycodone in her blood (she was prescribed medicine for pain after undergoing cosmetic surgery months earlier), as well as the antidepressant quetiapine metabolite, norbuprenorphine and buprenorphine, which treats opioid addiction. The coroner noted that the drugs did not contribute to her death.
Lisa Marie Presley and her mom Priscilla Presley.Bryan Steffy/WireImage
“The decedent had a history of overmedicating; she was known to forget she had taken her medications and would take them again,” the report reads. “She had a history of alcohol abuse and illicit drug use in the past. She had reportedly been clean from both since 2015. She smoked approximately 1 pack of cigarettes daily.”
The months following Lisa Marie’s death were fraught with tension within her immediate family as momPriscillaattempted to wrangle control of the late star’s trust — which friends say she wanted in the hands of daughterRiley Keough.
Asettlement was reached in June, with Riley becoming the sole trustee of Lisa Marie’s estate andpaying Priscilla $1 millionas well as $400K in legal fees to settle the family trust suit.
source: people.com
