惠特尼•休斯頓死因：意外溺亡

洛杉磯地方驗屍官辦公室本週四宣佈，美國著名歌手惠特尼•休斯頓死亡原因爲意外溺水，同時，吸食可卡因以及心臟病也是其死亡誘因。48歲的惠特尼於今年格萊美頒獎典禮前夜在洛杉磯比弗利山莊內的希爾頓酒店去世，她生前一直在與毒癮鬥爭。惠特尼遺體的毒性測試顯示，其體內還有大麻、抗抑鬱藥品、肌肉舒緩藥物以及治療過敏症的抗組胺藥物。不過驗屍官辦公室表示，這些藥物並不是構成惠特尼死亡的誘因，也沒有任何驚嚇或惡作劇的跡象。正式的屍檢報告將於兩週內公佈。

Pop star Whitney Houston died of accidental drowning due to the effects of cocaine use and heart disease, a Los Angeles County coroner's spokesman said on Thursday.

The 48-year-old singer, who spent years battling addiction to drugs including cocaine, was found submerged in the bathtub of her Beverly Hills hotel room on February 12, the eve of the Grammy Awards.

An autopsy into Houston's death found that the cause of death was accidental drowning with atherosclerotic heart disease and cocaine use listed as contributing factors, Los Angeles County Coroner's spokesman Craig Harvey said.

Harvey said toxicology tests also turned up marijuana, an anti-anxiety medication, a muscle relaxant and an anti-histamine in Houston's system.

Those drugs were not found to have contributed to her death, and no trauma or foul play were suspected, the coroner's office said. A final report was expected to be made public within two weeks.

"We are saddened to learn of the toxicology results, although we are glad to now have closure," Patricia Houston, the pop superstar's manager and sister-in-law said in a statement on Thursday.

Houston soared to the top of the pop charts in the 1980s, best known for a string of hit songs including "I Will Always Love You." But her career declined as she battled personal issues that included drug addiction.

Patricia Houston told Oprah Winfrey in an interview this month that she had believed the pop star's worst days of drug abuse were behind her.

Members of the family told Winfrey that Houston was found face down and naked in the bathtub, and that attempts by her staff to revive her proved fruitless.

Houston was last in rehab in May 2011. But celebrity media reported that she was seen drinking heavily and behaving erratically in the three or four days before her death.

Sales and downloads of Houston's best-known songs, including "Saving All My Love for You" and "My Love is Your Love" soared around the world after her death.