Brittany Murphy Autopsy Report: Death Anything but "Natural"

The official statement coming out of the Los Angeles County Coroner's Office Monday was that actress Brittany Murphy had died from what "appears to be natural causes" but that the cause of death was undetermined pending lab and toxicology test results. But that is not the general consensus of a group of experts interviewed by ABC News. Given Brittany Murphy's relatively young age, several cardiologists and toxicologists agreed that the 32-year-old actress' death was probably not "natural."

Cyril Wecht, forensic pathologist and author of A Question Of Murder (a work that analyzed the death of Anna Nicole Smith and others), noted that the term "cardiac arrest" meant nothing. Reports have all indicated that Brittany Murphy died of cardiac arrest. "Cardiac arrest...that's meaningless, everyone has cardiac arrest when you die, the question is what produced cardiac arrest."

Wecht said that he didn't understand how Chief Coroner Ed Winter came to his findings. "Epidemiologically," he said, "it's not the kind of a situation in which you would expect a natural death. You just don't expect a 32-year-old, slender woman to have a heart attack or stroke."

Brittany Murphy reportedly had a congenital heart condition and may have also been diabetic. Carbamazepine, a diabetic medication, was listed by TMZ as one of the medications found in Brittany Murphy's home. Dr. Brian Olshanky, professor of medicine at University of Iowa Hospitals, said that diabetes may led to the development of coronary artery disease, which may have led to a heart attack.

Dr. Michael Roizen, chairman of Cleveland Clinic's Wellness Institute, pointed out that: "The most common causes of sudden death are abnormal heart beats." This can be the result of heart conditions, leg clots, hypertension, asthma, and aggravated by stimulants or thyroid medications.

LuAnn White of Tulane Center for Applied Environmental Public Health suggested that symptoms arising from bulimia or anorexia could have strained the young star's heart. Dehydration and lack of salt could cause heart arrhythmia.

White also suggested the ingestion of pills as a possible cause of Brittany Murphy's cardiac arrest. "Illegal or prescription drug overdose are commonly associated with cardiac arrest," she said, "a drug overdose could be accidental, suicide, or homicide."

"Taking two, three, four different drugs and not [realizing] the cumulative effect...these are the things that classically kill people -- Anna Nicole Smith or Heath Ledger, for instance."

And TMZ revealed Tuesday a virtual pharmacopeia of prescription drugs alleged to be from a "leaked" Brittany Murphy autopsy report...

Still, in the end, Chief Coroner Ed Winter's may not be incorrect. He noted that Brittany Murphy's death appeared to be of natural causes, and he added that the final determination would rest with the results of the lab and toxicology tests, which could take as long as six weeks. Given the high-profile nature of the case, the statement was one of guarded ambiguity, much like the stance the L. A. Coroner's Office took in the Michael Jackson case.

Optimal statements are those that leave the Coroner's Office an out in what could become a potentially embarrassing situation should there prove to be something that the officials missed in their preliminary autopsy investigation. The preliminary autopsy report for Michael Jackson revealed no indication of trauma to the body or any evidence of foul play. But there was a subsequent investigation and pending toxicology tests to be considered...

The final autopsy report revealed Michael Jackson had actually died as a result of homicide and that the cause of death had been "acute Propofol intoxication."

Sometimes things just aren't what they appear to be...

Brittany Murphy, according to her mother, Sharon, went to take a shower at around 7:30 a.m. Sunday morning. At about 8:00 a.m., Sharon Murphy found her daughter collapsed in the shower. Subsequent attempts to revive her led to a 911 call. Paramedics were unable to revive the unresponsive actress at the home or on the way to the hospital. Doctors at Cedar-Sinai Medical Center, after attempting to revive Murphy three times, declared the young actress dead on arrival.

And after the autopsy, the Coroner's Office announced that Brittany Murphy had died from what "appears to be natural causes." Pending toxicology and lab results, of course.

Just in case things just aren't what they appear to be...

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Sources:

ABCNews.go.com
CNN.com