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It is no secret that Elvis’ life ended in tragedy
and mystery, as the star made his metamorphosis
from hunky, wild child rocker to a man struggling
to cope with the pressures of fame.
It is recorded that he died at 2pm on Tuesday
16 August, 1977.
On the 40th anniversary of The King’ death,
we look at the rumours and theories surrounding
his fate and the hard facts that have been offered
since that fateful night at his Graceland home
in Memphis, Tennessee.
Elvis suffered from a genetic heart
condition and many other medical ailments
In 1977 Elvis’ personal health was in disarray.
With the trappings of fame going to his head
and manifesting themselves in addictions to drugs,
alcohol and food, Elvis was suffering from high
blood pressure, aucoma, liver damage and
an enlarged colon at the time of his death.
The coroner’s report concluded that he
had died from hypertensive cardiovascular
disease with atherosclerotic heart disease –
or a heart attack for short.
In recent years, Elvis’ medical reports were
reopened 40 years later, according to the
Huffington Post. They report the differences
between the cause and means of his death.
His death was caused by a heart attack, but
the means of death (the method in which
the death happened) was chronic heart disease.
In 2014, the Channel 4 show Dead Famous
DNA discovered that Elvis had long suffered
from a genetic heart disease known as
hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.
Both of these addictions wouldn’t have helped,’
said presenter Mark Evans at the time.
‘But it seemed Elvis had a flaw in his DNA.’
Elvis was addicted to drugs
(and many of them)
Elvis was found to have traces of various
pharmaceutical drugs in his system at the time
of death. But with the cause and means of death distinguished and established, it may seem
that a drug overdose did not kill him, but
would have contributed to his chronic heart disease –
which eventually led to a heart attack.
Elvis reportedly took drugs to help him combat
ailments such as insomnia, arthritis and more.
It is reported that Elvis was found with ten times
the standard amount of codeine in his body.
He was also reportedly addicted to a variety
of substances, such as diazepam, methaqualone
(also known by the brand names Quaalude
and Mandrax), phenobarbital, ethchlorvynol
and ethinamate.
The toxicology report concluded, at the time,
that ‘the strong possibility is that these drugs
were the major contribution to his demise’.
But modern medical advancements now
suggest that his underlying heart problems
were exacerbated by the heady concoction of
drugs found in his system – but they were not
a direct cause.
Elvis was found face down on his bathroom
floor with no signs of struggle or foul play
The King was discovered on the ground, face first,
in the bathroom at his Graceland mansion in
Tennessee. Many believe that his positioning
on the floor was consistent of that of someone
in a sitting or crouching position, leading many
to believe that he suffered from heart irregularities
while using the toilet. No signs of struggle or
action were consistent with his body.
There are many rumours about how he was
discovered: some believe with pots of pills
scattered around his body, while some claim
that he was found with half a cheeseburger in
his hand. But the hard fact is he suffered from
a heart attack, following a series of acute health
disorders and a history of heart trouble.
He was allegedly discovered as ‘cold, blue and
lifeless’ when they discovered him over an
hour later. In recent years, Dr Nick – the
personal physician who was thought to have
prescribed over 10,000 doses of drugs to
Dr Nick had his license permanently revoked
in 1995.
Is he actually dead?
Did The King fake his own death to escape the
trappings of fame? Probably not, no.
When Elvis died, he was aged 42. Add another
forty years to the tally, coupled with his string
of health ailments and addictions, would result in
Elvis being aged 82 and no doubt battling the
effects of old age, alongside his own demons.
It would be highly unlikely – both scientifically
and naturally – that he would still be alive today.
Maybe if he had a penchant for excersise
rather than barbiturates.
Plus that would have been some fine acting –
a profession that he, aside from a handful
of the 31 films he starred in, was widely
considered to be quite rubbish at.
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