LONDON, Jun 23, 2008 (UPI via COMTEX) -- Amy Winehouse's father said the
British soul singer is in the early stages of the progressive lung disease
emphysema.
The BBC also quoted Mitch Winehouse as saying his 24-year-old daughter has been
diagnosed with an irregular heartbeat.
The diagnosis came after the Grammy Award-winning singer was hospitalized last
week following a fainting spell in her London home.
"Doctors have told her if she goes back to smoking drugs, it won't just ruin her
voice, it will kill her," Mitch Winehouse told the Sunday Mirror. "She's got
emphysema -- it's in its early stages, but had it gone on for another month they
painted a very vivid picture of her sitting there like an old person with a mask
on her face struggling to breathe. With smoking the crack cocaine and the
cigarettes her lungs are all gunked up. There are nodules around the chest and
dark marks. She's got 70-percent lung capacity."
Winehouse's publicist told the BBC: "If that's what Mitch says, that's what he
says. It sounds right."
URL: www.upi.com
Copyright 2008 by United Press International