# Elvis' fatal heart attack **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 22, 2001, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elvis-fatal-heart-attack/94688 "2001-11-22T01:19:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Beardedcrow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a4c791/32.png) [@Beardedcrow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beardedcrow)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2001, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elvis-fatal-heart-attack/94688/41 "2001-12-02T06:43:29Z")
(blunders into spotlight, grabs microphone, surveys crowd) “This subject reminds me of a little song I wrote. Goes something like this. Ahem.” (strums guitar) Elvis Presley’s body lies amoldering in the grave Elvis Presley’s body lies amoldering in the grave Elvis Aaron Presley lies amoldering in the grave But the Kings still rocking on! Glory, glory, Hallejuah, Elvis is our only ruler! Listen close, He’s singin to ya, The King’s still rockin’ on! They found him in the bathroom, he was sitting on the throne They found him in the bathroom, he was sitting on the throne They found his mortal body, but the King inside had flown! And the King’s still rocking on Glory, glory, Hallejuah, Elvis is our only ruler! Listen close, He’s singin to ya The King’s still rockin’ on! For three days, it rained and thundered, and the sun refused to shine For three days, it rained and thundered, and the sun refused to shine For three days, the King was missing. Now, we see him all the time! And the King’s still rocking on! (dancing girls, pyrotechnics, juggling Elvii, church choir) Glory, glory, Hallejuah, Elvis is our only ruler! Listen close, He’s singin to ya The King’s still rocking onnnnnn! “You 've been a wonderful audience, thank you.” ---
**Author:** ![warmgun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ecccb3/32.png) [@warmgun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/warmgun)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2001, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elvis-fatal-heart-attack/94688/42 "2001-12-02T22:46:56Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by PunditLisa \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > Finally, Why do think just because he was handsome and/or talented he would not be subject to the same emotions as every other person on the planet? > > Gosh, I don’t recall thinking this? Please cite.\*\* > [@](#): > > _PunditLisa_ > **I’ve read loads of interviews and books…\ They all say that for as handsome and talented he was, he was also his own worst enemy.** (underline mine) By paraphrasing those passages and books, you give the impression you agree with them. > [@](#): > > \*\*Talented people have a history of self-destructing -rich or not, handsome or not. That is certainly true. But handsome he was. Which is yet another reason why people mistakenly thought Elvis “had it all.” Clearly he didn’t.\*\* [/quote] **Lisa** , I admit I don’t know you well, and I have no reason to not like you but it clearly seems you’ve got ‘good looks’ and ‘got it made’ confused. Being good looking can work for you…but it can also work against you. No disrespect intended, but that seems like such a superficial attitude. > [@](#): > > \*\*And for, “I may be flattering myself, but I think I could have done a _bit_ better than Elvis in dealing with fame”, I still don’t think so. That’s pretty ironic coming from the person who wrote, “I submit that you, PunditLisa, know not of which you speak.” I’ve at least read a few books on Elvis. You don’t even know my name. \*\* [/QUOTE] Ok, maybe I was out of line. But knowing your name doesn’t help me understand human behaviour any better. I’d bet I’ve read more books than you on the subject and still don’t claim to know more about him than you. Elvis’ death was tragic. And I think he had much more to give. I have a chronic pain problem and I know how easy it would be to medicate all my problems away _if I didn’t have to go to work everyday and be responsible_. I blame his Dr. as much if not more than Elvis. Regardless, he lived more in his 22 years than you and I will put together. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2001, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elvis-fatal-heart-attack/94688/43 "2001-12-03T00:13:51Z")
Man, you guys are _Harsh_. Perhaps Elvis didn’t take perfect care of himself, but weighing 216 at 5’11" doesn’t exactly qualify you for the fat farm. The guy was somewhat out of shape, and wasn’t eating very well. Hands up, everyone here who hasn’t fit that description at one time or another. If Elvis weren’t ‘The King’, his weight would have only been a passing mention. Hell, Alec Baldwin has been heavier than Elvis at his fattest. Give him a break. For a guy in his 40’s, he didn’t look at that bad if you don’t judge him by the standards of Hollywood. People have heart attacks. The mid-40’s are a common age for men to have heart attacks. Elvis had one, and died. Tough luck. Time for an obligatory Warren Zevon Lyric (he wrote this after visiting graceland and seeing Elvis’s prized porcelain monkey, and Zevon thought it was a good metaphor for what went wrong): He was an accident waiting to happen, Most accidents happen at home… Maybe he should have gone out more often, Maybe he should have answered the phone. Hip Shakin’ shouting in gold lame, That’s how he earned his regal sobriquet. Then he threw it all away, For a porcelain monkey. He threw it away for a porcelain monkey, Gave it all up for a figurine, He traded it in for a night in Las Vegas, And his face on velveteen. From a shotgun shack singing pentecostal hymns, To the wrought iron gates and the TV room, He had a little world it was smaller than his hands, It’s a rockabilly ride from the glitter to the gloom. Left behind by the latest trends, Eatin’ fried chicken with his regicidal friends, That’s how the story ends, For the porcelain monkey… Gotta like a musician who can work words like “sobriquet” and “regicidal” into his songs. ---
**Author:** ![Billy\_Baroo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/76d3ee/32.png) [@Billy\_Baroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Billy_Baroo)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2001, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elvis-fatal-heart-attack/94688/44 "2001-12-04T16:13:05Z")
I apologize for my remarks earlier in the thread. In my defense, I felt that the thread itself was insulting to Elvis’ memory. I am glad some cogent discussion made it in here, because all I saw before that were cheap unfunny shots at Elvis in his darkest times, '74-'77. Those things make me unnaturally furious, which is a problem of mine. I’m sorry. His music touches me so; I find it impossible to respond without bile to cruel jokes about him. What I’m really sorry about is that I was too young to appreciate EP when he was alive. And his '70s material was some of his best work: he finally was able to sing songs that spoke to him personally. He didn’t die on the toilet. At least allow me to squeeze THAT little blackhead of ignorance. ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2001, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elvis-fatal-heart-attack/94688/45 "2001-12-04T21:29:43Z")
Warm, about the handsome thing. You can’t have a discussion about Marilyn Monroe without talking about her sexuality and you can’t have a discussion about Elvis without talking about his sexuality. It was the lethal combination of talent AND looks that made him a phenomenon. And because of that, he was pursued by everyone. The public. The record industry. The movie industry. Everyone wanted a piece of him. And they took it without regard to the consequences to him. So, tragically, the very qualities that made him extraordinarily famous also led to his downfall. Because he simply didn’t have the foundation necessary to support all the pressure he was under. And so he collapsed under the weight of it. And that’s not a criticism. I’m just recognizing the fact that he was human, with vulnerabilities and weaknesses. Just like all of us. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2017, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elvis-fatal-heart-attack/94688/46 "2017-07-07T04:03:21Z")
Updating this thread: I also had the impression that Elvis died of a heart attack (with a major factor being drug abuse). But today I came across this article that untreated Traumatic Brain Injury (which we usually talk about at Straight Dope in reference to athletes especially football players) was a major factor. > [@](#): > > The most serious head trauma occurred in Bel Air, Los Angeles, in 1967 just before he filmed “Clambake.” He tripped over a television cord in the bathroom and falling headfirst, Elvis hit his head on the porcelain bathtub. He was knocked out cold and lay there for an indeterminate amount of time. He eventually awoke and began cursing, which awakened his girlfriend, later his wife, Priscilla, who found him slumped on the floor. Elvis cradled his head and a golf-ball sized lump developed. Doctors were called. Interestingly, Presley stated, “I think I really did hurt myself.” The next day he was clearly “out of it” and had to be driven back to Memphis to recuperate. His aides described his mood as “despondent.” On the way back, he would stop frequently at a pay phone, call a Memphis DJ, and request that he repeatedly play Tom Jones’ “Green Green Grass of Home.” Once he got to Graceland, he claimed to see his deceased mother standing in her old bedroom. > > After his TBIs, Elvis’ behavior became progressively erratic and irrational. [https://www.practicalpainmanagement.com/pain/other/brain-injury/elvis-presley-head-trauma-autoimmunity-pain-early-death](https://www.practicalpainmanagement.com/pain/other/brain-injury/elvis-presley-head-trauma-autoimmunity-pain-early-death) ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2017, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elvis-fatal-heart-attack/94688/47 "2017-07-07T20:21:31Z")
A true rarity: Elvis doing a Dylan song. [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/0dRNZZuuR8I/hqdefault.jpg "Elvis Presley "Tomorrow Is A Long Time"") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0dRNZZuuR8I) ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2017, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elvis-fatal-heart-attack/94688/48 "2017-07-07T22:27:54Z")
Constipation is a common cause of heart attacks. People strain using the bathroom and a weak heart can’t take it. Elvis’ use of opioids and poor diet made him a prime candidate to die this way. It’s unfortunate he didn’t have a private nurse to get him on a regular bowl program and administer enemas as needed to prevent blockages. ---
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2017, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elvis-fatal-heart-attack/94688/49 "2017-07-07T23:14:43Z")
> [@Tuckerfan](#): > > Okay, so Elvis dies and goes to heaven, and you know that since he was “The King” that all the other cool celebs there from the 20th Century want to hang with him, but dontcha know there’s gotta be some awkwardness there. James Dean died in a car crash, Morrison, Joplin, and Hendrix all OD’d, cancer got McQueen, and Buddy Holly died in a plane crash. All of them get together with Elvis, and its gotta be _weird_! I mean, they all went out in vaguely “cool” ways, but Elvis, he died trying to take a dump. Man, you _know_ they’ve gotta be dogging him about that! Don’t they? How does “The King” handle that? Not nearly as embarrassing as Michael Hutchence. Mike probably tells everyone he fell out of a tree while trying to rescue a kitten. > [@PunditLisa](#): > > There was talk that his physician should have been charged with a crime since all the drugs were legally prescribed, but nothing was ever done to the bastard IIRC. I mean, who needs a pusher when your doctor will feed your habit? > > On a related note, I believe Michael Jackson’s plastic surgeon should also be held criminally liable for what he’s done to MJ’s face…clearly MJ is mentally ill and that surgeon should have respectfully declined to do more work. I mean, the man looks like Pinocchio. Sixteen years later, this comment turned out to be quite ironic. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2017, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elvis-fatal-heart-attack/94688/50 "2017-07-08T01:58:29Z")
Yes, I was impressed by PunditLisa’s prescience as well. And…I’m surprised we had the smiley face emoticon in 2001. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2017, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elvis-fatal-heart-attack/94688/51 "2017-07-08T03:25:20Z")
> [@PastTense](#): > > Updating this thread: > > I also had the impression that Elvis died of a heart attack (with a major factor being drug abuse). But today I came across this article that untreated Traumatic Brain Injury (which we usually talk about at Straight Dope in reference to athletes especially football players) was a major factor. > > [https://www.practicalpainmanagement.com/pain/other/brain-injury/elvis-presley-head-trauma-autoimmunity-pain-early-death](https://www.practicalpainmanagement.com/pain/other/brain-injury/elvis-presley-head-trauma-autoimmunity-pain-early-death) Not to goad a zombie thread, but I saw a PBS show that essentially asserted the same thing about the English King Henry VIII- he was relatively normal until he sustained a TBI in a jousting accident that knocked him cold. Afterward, he had a pretty profound personality change. I found an article: > **[The jousting accident that turned Henry VIII into a tyrant](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/the-jousting-accident-that-turned-henry-viii-into-a-tyrant-1670421.html)** > > Medical study uncovers turning point in king's life. Michael McCarthy reports ---
**Author:** ![Casey1505](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dc4da7/32.png) [@Casey1505](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Casey1505)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2017, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elvis-fatal-heart-attack/94688/52 "2017-07-08T03:45:42Z")
I had heard somewhere that he was in A-fib at the time, and that his straining to pinch off a loaf caused his lungs to compress his heart in such a way and at such a time as to stop it, causing his death. Not sure where I saw it, but I also seem to recall reading that a good crap-strain can actually take you _out_ of A-fib, in a good way, because the strain interrupts–rather than stops entirely–the irregular rhythm. ---
**Author:** ![Peanut\_Gallery](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/838e76/32.png) [@Peanut\_Gallery](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peanut_Gallery)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2017, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elvis-fatal-heart-attack/94688/53 "2017-07-08T16:24:28Z")
> [@Barking\_Spider](#): > > Elvis’ fatal heart attack Band name. (from a banned name) ---
**Author:** ![USCDiver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/uscdiver/32/354_2.png) [@USCDiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/USCDiver)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2017, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elvis-fatal-heart-attack/94688/54 "2017-07-08T18:26:59Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Constipation is a common cause of heart attacks. No it isn’t! ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2017, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elvis-fatal-heart-attack/94688/55 "2017-07-08T18:29:37Z")
Harvard Medical School has an excellent article on constipation and your heart. Most of it behind a stinking paywall. But there’s enough visible to see their point. [http://www.health.harvard.edu/heart-disease-overview/constipation-a-connection-to-heart-disease](http://www.health.harvard.edu/heart-disease-overview/constipation-a-connection-to-heart-disease) ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2017, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elvis-fatal-heart-attack/94688/56 "2017-07-08T18:49:22Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Harvard Medical School has an excellent article on constipation and your heart. > > Most of it behind a stinking paywall. But there’s enough visible to see their point. > [Constipation: A connection to heart disease? - Harvard Health](http://www.health.harvard.edu/heart-disease-overview/constipation-a-connection-to-heart-disease) That’s a 48-yr-old article that suggests a possible “hint” of a connection. ---
**Author:** ![USCDiver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/uscdiver/32/354_2.png) [@USCDiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/USCDiver)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2017, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elvis-fatal-heart-attack/94688/57 "2017-07-09T01:41:00Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Harvard Medical School has an excellent article on constipation and your heart. > > Most of it behind a stinking paywall. But there’s enough visible to see their point. > [Constipation: A connection to heart disease? - Harvard Health](http://www.health.harvard.edu/heart-disease-overview/constipation-a-connection-to-heart-disease) That’s your cite? So you had read that article sometime in the past and recalled that when you made your post? I can tell you that in a dozen years of working in the ER, I’ve seen exactly zero cases of heart attack caused by taking a shit. Maybe your definition of common is different from mine. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2017, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elvis-fatal-heart-attack/94688/58 "2017-07-09T01:57:39Z")
I remember reading health articles like that. I can’t recall for sure if it was Harvard’s article. That particular one came out several years before Elvis’ death. Harvard is a respected research hospital and they still offer that article in their archives. Maybe the research changed. I don’t follow it that closely. It does make sense that a bowel impaction would raise blood pressure. That can’t be a good thing for someone with coronary disease. I’m not a doctor and can’t say for sure. ---
**Author:** ![USCDiver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/uscdiver/32/354_2.png) [@USCDiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/USCDiver)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2017, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elvis-fatal-heart-attack/94688/59 "2017-07-09T11:50:47Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I remember reading health articles like that. I can’t recall for sure if it was Harvard’s article. > > That particular one came out several years before Elvis’ death. Harvard is a respected research hospital and they still offer that article in their archives. > > Maybe the research changed. I don’t follow it that closely. > > It does make sense that a bowel impaction would raise blood pressure. That can’t be a good thing for someone with coronary disease. > > I’m not a doctor and can’t say for sure. Well, I AM a doctor and I can say for sure that bearing down to take a crap _lowers_ your blood pressure. It’s called a valsalva maneuver. It causes people to pass out sometimes. ---
**Author:** ![Mavic\_Chen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e56c9b/32.png) [@Mavic\_Chen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mavic_Chen)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2017, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elvis-fatal-heart-attack/94688/60 "2017-07-10T14:46:58Z")
Well, I’m not a doctor either but I can tell you a story. I was in the A&E at my local hospital with AF, it’s something I get now and then and it usually takes a shot of flecanide to clear it. Anyway, after being in there a couple of hours I really needed to take a leak so they brought me a plastic bottle. Straining to pee in there with the doctor watching snapped me back into normal heartbeat nicely. So in my experience Elvis straining on the toilet would be a good thing for him if he was in AF at the time… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elvis-fatal-heart-attack/94688.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elvis-fatal-heart-attack/94688.md?page=4)