Carrie Fisher's death caused by sleep apnea, other factors - coroner

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Carrie Fisher's death caused by sleep apnea, other factors - coroner

By Alex Dobuzinskis

 

FILE PHOTO: Carrie Fisher poses for cameras as she arrives at the European Premiere of "Star Wars, The Force Awakens" in Leicester Square, London, December 16, 2015. REUTERS/Paul Hackett/File Photo

 

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The death last year of actor Carrie Fisher, best known for her role as Princess Leia in the "Star Wars" franchise, was due to sleep apnea and other causes, the Los Angeles County Coroner's Office said in a statement on Friday.

 

Fisher died aged 60 on Dec. 27, four days after she became unresponsive on a flight from London to Los Angeles and was rushed to a hospital.

 

Fisher was a mental health advocate who spoke about her struggles with bipolar disorder and cocaine addiction. Aside from her film work, she was also popular as a writer and humorist and her memoir "The Princess Diarist" was released a few weeks before she died.

 

The Los Angeles County Coroner's Office conducted an examination of her body on Dec. 30 and has since found she died of sleep apnea and "other undetermined factors," the coroner's statement said.

 

Fisher also had atherosclerotic heart disease and had used drugs, the statement said, but noted the significance of these factors in relation to her demise had not been ascertained.

 

A watch commander for the coroner's office declined to provide additional details on the findings, referring questions to a representative who was not immediately available.

 

Carrie Fisher came from a Hollywood family, as the daughter of actor Debbie Reynolds and singer Eddie Fisher.

 

The day after Carrie Fisher died, Reynolds, who starred in Hollywood musicals such as "Singin' in the Rain," suffered a stroke and died, aged 84. Eddie Fisher died in 2010.

 

Born in Beverly Hills, Carrie Fisher got her show business start at age 12 in her mother's Las Vegas nightclub act. She made her film debut as a teenager in 1975 comedy "Shampoo," two years before her breakthrough in the first "Star Wars" movie.

 

Fisher reprised the role in later "Star Wars" sequels, gaining sex symbol status in "Return of the Jedi" in 1983 when her Leia character wore a metallic gold bikini while enslaved by the diabolical Jabba the Hutt.

 

In the 2015 film "Star Wars: The Force Awakens," also known as "Episode VII" of the franchise, she appeared again as Leia, who by then had become an astute military general.

 

After undergoing treatment in the mid-1980s for cocaine addiction, Fisher wrote the bestselling novel "Postcards from the Edge," about a drug-abusing actress forced to move in with her mother. The book was later adapted into a film starring Meryl Streep and Shirley MacLaine.

 

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2017-06-17

 

[Stargeezr]

How about her heart disease, it may have had some cause as well. She did drugs as well and that can be hard on the body, as well as may diseases and ailments.    Sleep Apnea is very hard on a person, but to be part of the  cause of death,  seriously!   Carrie was 60 with many other problems,

  Sad she died this young, I really enjoyed her acting in the movies.

Geezer

[music065]

Yes sometimes one thinks that people with tons of money are immune to dying young. Not so. I read an article that actually said studies show that celebrities on average have shorter life expectancies than the average population. 

[Grubster]

9 hours ago, Stargrazer9889 said:

How about her heart disease, it may have had some cause as well. She did drugs as well and that can be hard on the body, as well as may diseases and ailments.    Sleep Apnea is very hard on a person, but to be part of the  cause of death,  seriously!   Carrie was 60 with many other problems,

  Sad she died this young, I really enjoyed her acting in the movies.

Geezer

Sleep apnea untreated will cause a very early death, the deaths were always attributed to the first organ to fail, normally the heart. Every organ in your body is damaged greatly by sleep apnea.  The doctor here is stating the root cause.

[ddavidovsky]

Had she previously been diagnosed with sleep apnea? Not mentioned.

Was she snoring loudly on the plane and then stopped breathing and died? Not mentioned.

This judgement sounds like a suspicious fudge.

There can surely only be one cause of death. Seems like they don't really know and this is their best guess.

[Scott]

I have an older cousin who was recently diagnosed with sleep apnea.   The doctor said he probably had it most of his life.   He was always a light, restless sleeper, early riser and all that sort of stuff.   He had no idea he had sleep apnea, but when he was put on the machine to assist with breathing, he slept a straight 10 hours.   He said it was the first good nights sleep he ever remembers.  

 

Waking throughout the night is stressful on the body.   I don't think the doctor would have a reason to hide the cause of death.   She had lived her life in full view of the public and her life-style choices and actions would not cause anyone to be surprised by her dying as a result of any of those.