Doctors, via ABC News, say the cocktail of drugs that killed Health Ledger — a deadly mix of powerful prescription painkillers, anxiety drugs and a sleeping pill — was not a combination that any single physician could have reasonably prescribed.
According to a statement issued by the New York City medical examiner's spokeswoman, Ellen Borakove, Ledger "died as the result of acute intoxication by the combined effects of oxycodone, hydrocodone, diazepam, temazepam, alprazolam and doxylamine."
A statement later issued by Ledger's family suggests that all of the drugs found in the actor's body were in therapeutic levels, contributing to the notion that it was no single medication that directly caused his death.
Both oxycodone and hydrocodone (known by the trade names Oxycontin and Vicodin) are powerful opioid pain medications. Diazepam (Valium), temazepam (Restoril) and alprazolam (Xanax) are prescribed to treat anxiety. And doxylamine (Unisom) is a sleep aid.
But considering the powerful nature of the drugs in the mix, say doctors, it's little surprise that the drug combination turned out to be fatal.
"Any one of these drugs, in the right amount, could be dangerous or fatal," says Dr. Vatsal Thakkar, clinical assistant professor of psychiatry at New York University Medical Center.
"The fact that he was taking a number of them at the same time makes them even more dangerous," Thakkar says. "When you add in a number of classes [of drugs] that all have a sedative effect, you increase the chances of 'quieting down' the brain to the point that the victim stops breathing."
For more details, view the complete ABC Article entitled "A Closer Look at Ledger's Killer Combo"
(image from askmen.com)
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