Renowned actor Carrie Fisher died because of sleep apnoea and “other factors”, the Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office has said. Their statement said “the manner of death has been ruled undetermined”. It pointed out other factors like atherosclerotic heart disease and “drug use”, which likely had a part to play in her death.
Sleep apnoea is a condition where a person can stop breathing while asleep, either for seconds or minutes. The Star Wars icon’s brother Todd Fisher said, “We’re not enlightened. There’s nothing about this that is enlightening,” about the coroner’s report. “I am not shocked that part of her health was affected by drugs,” he added. Fisher said his sister’s heart problems were probably aggravated by her smoking habit, and all the medication she had been on. “If you want to know what killed her, it’s all of it.”
However, Todd Fisher said he could not blame doctors for treating her mental disorder or for any medication she had been given. “Without her drugs, maybe she would have left long ago.” Carrie Fisher had been an outspoken advocate of mental health awareness and had discussed her struggles with drug addiction and bipolar disorder.
The actor had been rushed to an LA hospital on December 23 last year after suffering a medical emergency. She had died on December 27.
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