Amy Winehouse apparently has emphysema.
The Sunday Mirror quoted Mitch Winehouse as saying that Amy has an irregular heartbeat, and has been warned that she will have to wear an oxygen mask unless she stops smoking drugs."The doctors have told her if she goes back to smoking drugs, it won't just ruin her voice, it will kill her," Mitch Winehouse was quoted as saying. "There are nodules around the chest and dark marks. She has 70 percent lung capacity."
The 24-year-old soul diva collapsed at her north London home Monday after signing autographs for a group of fans and was taken to a London hospital for tests. She remained there all week.
This is not actually quite as awful as it sounds--I have about 70% lung capacity, and I not only stand, but belt 'em out at Karaoke. However, emphysema is degnerative; asthma isn't.
My son's doctor has told me that asthma is degenerative, and this site agrees:
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In about 10% of severe persistent cases, changes in the structure of the walls of the airways lead to progressive and irreversible problems in lung function, even in aggressively treated patients.
Lung function declines faster than average in people with asthma....
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Indeed, but my lung function is very stable, and emphysema patients pretty much always get worse.
Wait, if you're at 70% anyway, does that mean _you_ can smoke a lot of crack safely? Dude -- lucky you!
I bet it's hard to smoke enough crack to get emphysema. Most people probably die or lose all of their money first. I wonder if Keith Richard will get severe carpal-tunnell syndrome someday.
"Amy Winehouse was arrested in connection with a video that allegedly shows her doing drugs at a party. Winehouse could be looking at real jail time under England's harsh 'bazillion strikes' law."
SNL, "Weekend Update"
She's a good candidate for those next-celebrity-to-die betting pools.
Hmmmm.
Before I got properly diagnosed with kidney failure the doctors thought I had emphysema. Tests showed that I had around 20%-25% lung capacity and it felt like it.
IMO the only way of dying worse than emphysema is probably burning to death.
You go to Rochester to visit relatives AND you belt out karaoke?
We are BOUND to run into one another some day!