Lisa Marie Presley Was Facing a Number of Health Issues Ahead of Her Sudden Death, Coroner Says

By Ashley Turner

The recently released autopsy report on the death of 54-year-old singer-songwriter, and the daughter of Elvis Presley, Lisa Marie Presley, provides insight into her passing. A report obtained by PEOPLE revealed on Thursday that Presley died in January of a "sequelae of a small bowel obstruction," which occurred several years after she underwent bariatric surgery. According to the report, the obstruction was caused by adhesions that developed after her weight-loss surgery, resulting in strangulated small bowel. "This is a known long-term complication of this type of surgery," Deputy Medical Examiner Dr. Juan Carrillo told the outlet. The report states that Presley's ex-husband, Danny Keough, reportedly found her unresponsive at her home in Calabasas on Jan. 12, and she died hours later after being hospitalized. Presley complained of abdominal pain and feeling ill that morning. When her ex-husband returned from taking her children to school, he found her in cardiac arrest, the report noted.

It is also indicated in the report that Presley suffered from life-threatening heart rhythms while in the emergency room, and a temporary pacemaker was implanted; she was admitted to the intensive care unit for further treatment, but a scan revealed that she had already suffered a severe anoxic brain injury. Her dramatically declined when she went into cardiac arrest at 4:48 p.m., and she was pronounced dead twenty minutes later. In the report, Carrillo stated that Presley had suffered from a "distended abdomen for years." He also noted that she "did not seek medical attention" despite "abdominal pain for the past few months." Due to kidney disease or failure, Presley also had severe metabolic acidosis, which causes an accumulation of acid in the body. In addition to having a history of blood sugar and blood pressure problems, depression, anxiety, and a history of stroke (which was referred to in the report as a cerebral vascular accident), Presley described symptoms of feeling feverish, nauseated, and vomiting in the months before her death, according to the report.

As a result of the toxicology tests, Presley was found to have levels of oxycodone present in her bloodstream when he died. A few months before, she had another cosmetic surgery and was prescribed pain medication; after that, she developed an infection and was hospitalized at Los Angeles Robles Hospital. The coroner found quetiapine metabolite, an antidepressant, as well as norbuprenorphine and buprenorphine, which treat opioid addiction, in her system, but that they were not responsible for the cause of death. "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 per PEOPLE. "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." In the days leading up to her tragic death, Presley attended the Golden Globes with her mother, Priscilla. "It is with a heavy heart that I must share the devastating news that my beautiful daughter Lisa Marie has left us," Priscilla said in a statement released in January. "She was the most passionate, strong and loving woman I have ever known. We ask for privacy as we try to deal with this profound loss. Thank you for the love and prayers."

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