Dr. Drew: Nothing Natural About Heath’s Death
Amid rampant speculation over what exactly caused Heath Ledger’s tragic death, Dr. Drew Pinsky tells PageSix.com that claims that it could have been from natural causes are “very unlikely.”
“That rarely happens to young people, even if they have pneumonia. And the term ‘natural causes’ is very ambigious. Natural causes always means something, such as a rhythmic disturbance in the heart. Natural causes means something more is going on.”
The TV doc points to drug interaction as the most clear explanation, suggesting that if the 28-year-old had been prescribed an opiate-based cough medicine for pneumonia, it could have played a large part in an accidental overdose.
Police reportedly found Ambien, Xanax, Valium, and two drugs from Europe for sleep called Zoplicone and Donormul in Heath’s bedroom, constituting what Drew calls “an extraordinary and excessive combination.” He tells PageSix.com that Zoplicone’s reference materials state that taking an excess of the drug “may present with excessive sedation, depressed respiratory function which may proceed to coma and possibly death. Zoplicone combined with alcohol, opiates, or any other depressants may be even more likely to lead to fatal overdoes.”
Drew, who deals with all kinds of addiction problems tells PageSix.com that abuse of prescription narcotics such as Xanax, Valium and Ambien is rampant, and poses a much bigger threat than cocaine and crack because they are so readily available.
