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Elvis Presley and his close family have a tragic common history of early deaths. The King’s mother was 46 when she died and three of his uncles died of heart, kidney and liver issues in their forties and early fifties.
And then the star himself was just 42 when he died, which has long been speculated to have been caused by his prescription drug abuse.
However, Sally A Hoedel, the author of Elvis: Destined to Die Young argues in her heavily researched book that the heart attack that killed him was due to genetic and congenital issues he’d had since birth, possibly due to procreating cousins in his near family tree.
Earlier this year, tragedy struck again when the singer’s only child Lisa Marie Presley died in January after suffering a cardiac arrest at just 54.
A newly released autopsy revealed her death occurred due to a bowel obstruction caused by weight-loss surgery several years ago and Hoedel argues this new information has a correlation with her father’s untimely death in 1977.
Hoedel shared exclusively with Express.co.uk: “By the time Elvis died in 1977, he had disease or disorder in nine of the 11 systems of the body. At least five of those were present prior to fame and most likely since birth. This is even more relevant now the autopsy of Lisa Marie Presley revealed a great deal of disease.
“As information is being released from Lisa Marie Presley’s autopsy report, cause of death is confirmed as small bowel obstruction. This does lead to more questions about her long-term state of health. The obstruction itself was caused by scar tissue from a gastric bypass surgery that was performed years ago. At face value, that has little correlation to how her famous father died. The obstruction compromised blood supply, which leads to tissue damage and then infection and then organ failure, which can result in death, as it did in this case.
“Intestinal obstruction risk is increased after surgery, as it was in this case, but also when Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBS) and Chronic constipation are present. Lisa Marie suffered from digestive/bowel disorder her entire life. She referred to it as a ‘chronic Presley problem’ and stated that it went back to childhood for her.
“Elvis Presley also suffered from a life-long bowel disorder and life-long chronic constipation. Although some of the medication he was taking would have further slowed his digestive system, it did not initially cause the problem. There is testimony to it being a problem for Elvis as a toddler and a teen, long before fame and prescription medication. This was also true for Lisa Marie, as her own testimony attests to it being known since childhood.”
The Elvis book author continued: “Knowing that it was a life-long problem for Lisa Marie as well, is it possible that the gastric bypass was performed, not only for weight loss but perhaps to ease the chronic digestive problem she suffered from all her life? This is an important question to have answered. Gastric bypass surgery is known to result in statistically significant improvement with IBS. Additionally, the pain that accompanies lifelong digestive issues would have seemed normal to her. Perhaps this is why she did not seek medical treatment sooner. She had suffered from gut discomfort her entire life.
“There are other details which have emerged from the autopsy report that are more striking when it comes to her shared DNA with her father. It states a ‘distended abdomen for years’ and ‘months of abdominal pain.’ Although Elvis has long been mocked for his supposed astronomical weight gain, most of it was abdominal bloating and swelling.
“The report also states that Lisa Marie Presley suffered from several metabolic acidosis, which means too many acids would build up in her body. This is a result of kidney disease or kidney failure. We do not know how long she suffered from this condition. Was it short-term or long-term? There is a known presence of genetic kidney disease in her paternal line. Elvis Presley’s uncle died from kidney disease in 1968, and his daughter (Elvis’ cousin) suffers from the same genetic kidney disease today. Many of the symptoms of this disorder are similar to that of bowel obstruction with nausea, vomiting, confusion and change in heart rate.
“Additionally, the report includes issues with blood sugar, blood pressure, and a history of stroke. Regulating the blood pressure of Elvis Presley was always a struggle for his doctor, especially after ending a performance. Likewise, the stroke is interesting from a family history standpoint as well. There are two uncles of Elvis Presley who suffered from strokes at an early age. Both Travis Smith and Tracy Smith suffered a stroke in their 40s and 50s. They were brothers to Gladys Presley.”
Hoedel added: “There was medication in Lisa Marie’s system at therapeutic levels, which means they did not contribute to her death. She had recently had cosmetic surgery and was still dealing with the pain from that procedure. Although she had drug abuse problems in the past, this appears to be necessary pain medication for a recent procedure.
“Also coming to light from that procedure, was that she suffered an infection post-op that required hospitalization. It is known that Elvis Presley suffered from hypogammaglobulinemia, which means his body struggled to fight infection. It was a constant problem for him, especially while touring. A history of infection in Lisa Marie is unknown, but this is another correlation.
“Ultimately, we do not have enough long-term health history available at this time to understand how her poor health is related to that of the inherited issues her father certainly suffered from. However, another young death in the Presley family that is heart, bowel and kidney-related does have to mean something. The presence of stroke at such a young age is certainly of interest given the presence of stroke in the family tree.
“I hope this family health history is ultimately pieced together, not only to bring peace for Lisa Marie and her family but for the obvious correlation to the young death of her famous father. His legacy deserves an understanding of his lifestyle choices. His story was certainly one of survival and not self-destruction. If Lisa Marie’s tragic death and lifelong health issues can add to that understanding, I have to imagine that is a gift in many ways to many people…but especially to her father and the sensationalism that has surrounded his death for all these years.”
Elvis: Destined to Die Young is out now and can be purchased here.
