Carrie Fisher, Debbie Reynolds: Causes Of Death Revealed For ‘Star Wars’ Actress & Her Mom

The sudden deaths of both Star Wars actress Carrie Fisher and her beloved celebrity mother Debbie Reynolds shocked their family, friends, and fans. Now the death certificates have unveiled the official causes of death for both Fisher and Reynolds, according to Us Weekly.

Fisher’s death certificate states that the actress died from “cardiac arrest/deferred.” The Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office will need to perform more tests, including toxicology tests, to unveil the trigger of what the publication described as Carrie’s “massive heart attack.”

Fisher had suffered a heart attack when she was on board a flight from London to LAX on Friday, December 23. After four days in intensive care, Carrie died at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center at age 60.

Reynolds reportedly passed away from a stroke, technically referred to as intracerebral hemorrhage, on December 28 at age 84. A blood vessel ruptured, resulting in bleeding in Debbie’s brain. In addition, an underlying cause of Reynolds’ stroke is listed as hypertension.

Beloved for such classic films as Singin’ In the Rain, Debbie was taken by an ambulance from her son Todd Fisher’s home in Beverly Hills, California. He had called 911. Soon after, Reynolds died at the hospital only a day after her daughter Carrie Fisher’s death.

TMZ reported that although it is known that Carrie suffered a heart attack on board the United flight, the use of the term “deferred” on her death certificate means that “the reason her heart stopped beating remains a mystery.”

Among the tests that the L.A. County Coroner’s Office will do are “toxicology tests will be performed to determine if there were any drugs in her system that could have contributed to Carrie’s death,” according to the media outlet.

Fisher earned fame for her candor about her struggles with drug addiction, pointed out Santa Monica Observed. Carrie revealed that she had taken drugs such as cocaine and Percodan during the 1970s and 1980s, even admitting that she was using LSD when she filmed the Star Wars sequel The Empire Strikes Back.

Santa Monica Observed cited two experts’ insights into the possibility that the use of those drugs might be linked to Fisher’s heart attack. Dr. Reef Karim, a well-known addiction medicine expert and director of The Control Center in Beverly Hills, noted that cocaine has been shown to cause damage to the heart.

“Cocaine use can cause long term cardiovascular problems that can be acute such as arrhythmias or irregularities on how the blood is pumped throughout the body.”

Dr. Gabe Mirkin agrees that the use of cocaine can result in “long-term muscle damage to the heart muscle.” Also, Mirkin noted that Carrie had gained weight and lost weight repeatedly, which he said also increased her risk of cardiovascular disease.

Noting that Hollywood is still mourning the loss of Fisher and Reynolds, ET reported that the Hollywood Foreign Press Association honored both actresses with the association’s first Golden Globes In Memoriam tribute. The tribute took place only days after the talented mom and daughter were laid to rest.

Golden Globes host Jimmy Fallon gave the audience a brief introduction, and Reynolds and Fisher were then remembered with a video paying tribute to all of their accomplishments. The tribute, which took place accompanied by Debbie’s performance of the song, “You Made Me Love You,” included the mom and daughter hugging on stage.

“We’ve always kept the show as a celebration and as a party, and yet we realize this is a special circumstance,” explained Golden Globes executive producer Barry Adelman about the decision to honor both Debbie and Carrie during the show.

Thank you @goldenglobes for taking a moment and honoring my girls. pic.twitter.com/25TnOwzFF7

— Todd Fisher (@tafish) January 9, 2017

Debbie’s son Todd told ET that after Carrie died, his mother “missed” Fisher.

“She missed her daughter and wanted to very much be with her.”

Todd described his mother as “very strong,” but admitted that there was “enormous stress.” On the morning that she died, Reynolds revealed how much she missed Carrie.

“She said those words to me and 15 minutes later she had a stroke and virtually left,” added Debbie’s son.

He also revealed that a public service to honor both Fisher and Reynolds would take place in the future.

“We’ll have a bigger service down the road for the public and all the family friends,” said Todd.

[Featured Image by Ethan Miller/Getty Images]