Amy Winehouse’s family told the British tabloid, The Sun, that she most likely died due to alcohol withdrawals.
Further research has suggested that this is in fact a possibility; her detoxification could actually be the reason that she is now dead. The LA Times reports from their interview with Dr. Karen Miotto, medical director of the UCLA Alcoholism and Addiction Medicine Service and an addiction psychiatrist:
” The brain, she adds, may reach a point where alcohol becomes necessary to function. “In its absence the brain can release chemicals, flight-or-fight hormones that are released in response to what it thinks is imminent danger.” That can also raise blood pressure and pulse and put a person at greater danger for cardiovascular problems and slightly higher risk for stroke and heart attack.
That imbalance of brain chemicals can also up the risk for seizures and possibly death. “You can hit your head on the corner of a table or aspirate fluid” during a seizure, Miotto says. “
So, the imbalance of brain chemicals could have actually killed Winehouse – that is actually really unfortunate.