Lucille Ball had the drug 'poppers' in her system at the time of her death in 1989

[TMC]

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbi...ime-death.html

• Ball died after she suffered a cardiac arrest in 1989; she was 77 years old
  
  She was taking amyl nitrite before she died, Dr Michael Hunter said
  
  The drug goes by the name Poppers on the street and is popular sex aide
  
  But back then it was taken when a patient complained of chest pain
  
  Hunter also thinks a 'mystery illness' when she was only 17-years-old played a part in the deterioration of her health later in life
  
  Autopsy: The Last Hours of… Lucille Ball premieres Sunday at 8 pm ET on Reelz

'Lucille Ball died of a rupture of the aorta. This tells me how she died, but not what led to such extensive damage to this critical blood vessel,' Hunter said in a preview of the series.

The red-headed comedienne was 'using a drug that became a popular sex aide,' it is stated in the teaser.

'The street name for amyl nitrite is poppers. Poppers are a strong smelling inhalant often associated with sex,' said Hunter.

'But it’s original purpose was as a prescription drug to treat pain in the chest.'

He added, 'As early as 1984, four years before her death, Lucille Ball was using this inhalant to ease pains in her chest and heart. And that could be a warning sign of already established cardiovascular disease.'

And her health started to crumble two years before she died.

'My investigation has discovered reports of a major setback for Lucille, some two years before her life ended,' he claimed.

'And I want to find out what impact this had on her health.'

When Ball was 17 she was on the verge of breaking into Hollywood.

At 18 she had a small, uncredited role in the movie Bulldog Drummond. In the late 1930s she was making several films a year including Room Service and Panama Lady. Then in 1951 her blockbuster series I Love Lucy hit the air and ran for six years.

Cystic medial necrosis was a contributing cause to Ball’s death, said Hunter.

She complained of chest pains just a week before she died.

Ball was taken to the hospital, where cardiologist Yuri Busi diagnosed 'a dissecting aortic aneurysm.'

'The slow tearing of Lucille’s aortic lining that had presented itself to doctors eight days earlier had ended in what reports refer to as an aortic blowout,' he said.

But surgery could do only so much.

Her aorta ruptured a week later causing cardiac arrest.

'But what led to this damage? Lucille’s death certificate states cystic medial necrosis as a contributing cause to her death,' said the doctor.

Hunter went on to explain, 'Cystic medial necrosis is the breakdown of muscle, collagen and elasten in the large blood vessels throughout the body. When they lose this elasticity and support, it makes them more liable to tear and rupture.'

But Lucille appeared to be in great shape just weeks before she passed.

'I want to investigate if there were any previously unknown causes of her heart problems,' he then said.

'Could a mystery illness that she contracted when she was just 17 years old have played a part in the death of America’s most loved Lucy?' he asked.

In 1940, Ball met Cuban-born bandleader Desi Arnaz while filming the Rodgers and Hart stage hit Too Many Girls. They wed soon after.

Together they co-starred in I Love Lucy and had two children: Lucie, 67, and son Desi Jr., 66. The couple divorced in 1960.

Her second husband Morton died in 1999.

[Babalu]

Lucy was a heavy smoker her entire life.

This tawdry program is a crock of **** made by the lowest of the low.

Anyone with sense will avoid it.

[SitcomsHeydayfan]

This should be interesting to see what that mystery illness was when she was 17.

[TV Guy]

Originally Posted by Babalu

This tawdry program is a crock of **** made by the lowest of the low.

I couldn’t have said it better myself.

[SitcomsHeydayfan]

Originally Posted by TV Guy

I couldn’t have said it better myself.

It's a show based on forensic pathology and science. It's interesting for those interested in that.

To each his own.

[IsabellaKlump]

In her memoir, Lucy discusses coming down with a bout of rheumatoid arthritis when she was 17. She apparently dealt with it for two years. I will assume that this is the illness that the program is alluding to.

[SitcomsHeydayfan]

Originally Posted by IsabellaKlump

In her memoir, Lucy discusses coming down with a bout of rheumatoid arthritis when she was 17. She apparently dealt with it for two years. I will assume that this is the illness that the program is alluding to.

That's it! I think she also had rheumatic fever.

They said she spent 2 YEARS bed-ridden from age 17 to 19!