After changing music forever, Elvis Presley's life was cut tragically short. And while the results of The King's autopsy remain under wraps, there has been tons of speculation regarding his cause of death.
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00:00After changing music forever, Elvis Presley's life was cut tragically short.
00:05And while the results of the king's autopsy remain under wraps,
00:08there has been tons of speculation regarding his cause of death.
00:12Elvis Presley's life was cut short when he died at age 42 in 1977, after spending decades serenading
00:19the masses with his signature bluesy rasp, and dominating on the big and small screens.
00:24Over the years, Ginger Alden, Presley's fiancee at the time,
00:27has recounted the fateful moments that preceded his death. Speaking with E! News, she recalled,
00:32"'I fell back asleep and then I remember Elvis was getting up. I said,
00:36what's the matter? And he said he was going to the bathroom to read. And the last thing
00:40I said to him was, don't fall asleep. And he said, I won't. And then he walked into the bathroom.'"
00:45While reporters first stated that the famed musician, known for his hits like
00:49Hound Dog and Jailhouse Rock, died because of a heart attack, the barrage of information
00:53revealed in subsequent decades has suggested other tragic factors that led to his mysterious
00:58death. For example, the original NBC Nightly News broadcast from August 16th, 1977,
01:04showed a reporter making some chaste claims.
01:07"'Even though he didn't drink, smoke, or drive his own car,
01:10he quit breathing at the age of 42.'"
01:13Unfortunately, Presley's autopsy is allegedly full of disturbing details that suggest the
01:18beloved star was pumped full of prescription drugs at the time of his tragic death.
01:22Because of his family's litigation, Presley's autopsy has been and will remain guarded from
01:27the public until 2027. However, purported aspects of the report are compiled online.
01:33According to Unintended Consequences, a case study of Elvis Presley, the musician ingested
01:38eight prescription medications prior to his death. The study cited the opinion of Los Angeles
01:43coroner Thomas Noguchi, who stated that Presley had ingested Demerol, antihistamines, and
01:48tranquilizers, among other things. However, his prescription drug use was a symptom of a larger
01:54dependency on medication. This issue was largely aided by his doctor, George Nikopoulos, who
01:59prescribed him an inordinate amount of meds. That said, not everyone is settled on what actually
02:04caused Presley's death on that fateful day. For example, Dan Warlick, an investigator from the
02:10Tennessee office of the state chief medical examiner who was actually present for the
02:14autopsy procedure, supported the heart-related death theory. However, his version of events
02:19involves a major twist that's rather unfortunate. According to The Mirror, he said,
02:24"[Presley's chronic constipation, the result of years of prescription drug abuse and high-fat,
02:28high-cholesterol gorging, brought on what's known as Valsava's maneuver. Put simply,
02:33the strain of attempting to defecate compressed the singer's abdominal aorta, shutting down his
02:37heart." Although Elvis and his wife Priscilla divorced years before he died, she's also
02:42confirmed his drug use. Claiming it started during his days in the Army, she shared with
02:47People in 2018,
02:48"'It was difficult for all of us. We certainly didn't see it coming, but we certainly saw the
02:53journey he was taking.'"
02:54The widow also addressed the long-touted speculation about his circle's perceived
02:58lack of intervention. She explained,
03:00"'Well, that's not true. People there in the inner group did. But you did not tell Elvis
03:05Presley what to do. He knew what he was doing.'"
03:08During a previous interview with ET, Priscilla recounted the moment she found out her ex-husband
03:13had died. It was a phone call from her sister that first set her on high alert.
03:17"'Instantly I knew something was wrong. I didn't quite pinpoint it yet because
03:22Lisa was supposed to come home that day.'"
03:25She returned home to a phone call from Elvis' friend,
03:28Joe Esposito, who informed her of the life-changing news.
03:31"'I dropped the phone and I just couldn't, you know, believe that he died.'"