Whitney Houston: Chronic Cocaine Abuse and Heart Disease Talented singer Whitney Houston was found facedown in less than a foot of water in a hotel bathtub. The official cause of death was accidental drowning, but the autopsy showed that years of cocaine abuse had badly damaged Houston’s heart and circulatory system. Cocaine and other drugs were also detected in Houston’s body, leading to speculation that cocaine use had triggered a heart attack or arrhythmia that caused Houston to lose consciousness in the bathtub. Because of its powerful effects on the sympathetic nervous system, chronic cocaine abuse damages the heart, liver, and other organs.
AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill