Vernon's Secret

Elvis died on August 16, 1977 in the bathroom at Graceland. After being found on the bathroom floor, Elvis was rushed to the hospital where he was officially pronounced dead. The coroner recorded the cause of death as cardiac arrhythmia. While true in the strictest sense (cardiac arrhythmia basically means that the heart was beating irregularly and in this case, finally stopped), the attending physicians deliberately omitted the fact that what had apparently caused Elvis' heart to beat irregularly and then stop was an overdose of prescription drugs. These drugs included codeine, Valium, morphine, and Demorol, to name a few. After this information was revealed, Vernon Presley, Elvis' father, had the complete autopsy report sealed. It will remain sealed until 2027, fifty years after The King's death.

The official autopsy of Elvis Presley found eight different prescription drugs in his body with no trace of any illegal drugs such as heroin, cocaine, or hashish often found in overdose cases. Thomas Noguchi, a Los Angeles coroner, believes that Elvis’s death was accidental—he simply did not realize the effect of drugs combined in the body. 

DEFINITIONS additive effect The sum or cumulative effects of two or more pharmaceutical substances mixed together. synergistic effect Any hyper-additive effect produced by a combination of two or more drugs, which may double or triple the effect of another. 

According to Noguchi, Elvis died with the following drugs in his system: 

ƒ antihistamine (prescription) 

ƒ codeine (prescription for pain) 

ƒ Demerol (prescription narcotic used as a sedative) 

ƒ tranquilizers (prescription including Valium) 

ƒ a sedative-hypnotic prescription for insomnia Not one prescription drug was at a toxic level.