Matthew Perry, the actor best known for playing Chandler Bing on the smash hit TV show Friends, died due to the “acute effects of ketamine”, medical officials in Los Angeles confirmed the cause of his death. Perry, who was 54 years old, was found unresponsive in the pool of his Los Angeles home on October 28, soon after which paramedics declared him dead. Other contributing causes of the 54-year-old's death were found to be “drowning, coronary artery disease, and the effects of buprenorphine.” Buprenorphine is a medication that is used to treat opioid use disorder, acute or chronic pain.
“At the high levels of ketamine found in his post-mortem blood specimens, the main lethal effects would be from both cardiovascular overstimulation and respiratory depression,” senior deputy medical examiner Raffi Djabourian wrote, according to the Press Association. “Drowning contributes due to the likelihood of submersion into the pool as he lapsed into unconsciousness; coronary artery disease contributes due to exacerbation of ketamine induced myocardial effects on the heart,” he added.
Perry was laid to rest at an LA cemetery following a private funeral, US media reported in November.
At the height of his fame, Perry was battling with addiction to painkillers and alcohol, and attended rehabilitation clinics on multiple occasions. The actor was open about his struggles, and even set up a sober living facility for men battling drug disorders. After attempts at treatment, he wrote in his memoir Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing that he had been mostly sober since 2001, “save for about 60 or 70 mishaps.”
Read: 'Thank you for the laughs, Matty': 'Friends' team says goodbye to Matthew Perry
(With inputs from IANS)