Houston died of accidental drowning after using cocaine © Reuters/Phil McCarten An autopsy into Whitney Houston's death concluded the singer accidentally drowned due to the effects of heart disease and cocaine use. Speaking at a news conference, a spokesperson for the Los Angeles Department of County Coroners said: "The final cause of death has been established as drowning due to artherosclerotic heart disease and cocaine use." He went on to say that other drugs were identified during the toxicology process, but those drugs were either therapeutic or sub-therapeutic and are not considered to be related to the actual cause of death. "Cocaine use indicated an acute use and it appeared that the cocaine had been used in the time period just probably immediately prior to her collapse in the bathtub at the hotel," the spokesperson explained. Houston, 48, was found dead in the bath of her Beverly Hills hotel room on February 12, 2012, the night before the Grammy Awards.