Amy Winehouse family says NOT drinking doomed diva: Is that possible?

(CBS) Amy Winehouse may have been notorious for heavy drinking, but her family think not drinking may have doomed the diminutive diva.

The family say the 27-year-old singer ignored medical advice to back off booze gradually, a source told the Sun. As a result of going cold turkey, they believe, she suffered a fatal seizure.

"Abstinence gave her body such a fright, they thought it was eventually the cause of her death," the source told the English tabloid.

Can stopping drinking really be fatal?

Alcohol withdrawal is a well-documented phenomenon, and the more one drinks, the more likely one is to experience symptoms. These include anxiety, depression, fatigue, and irritability as well as physical complaints like headaches, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, rapid heart rate, and clammy skin.

Severe alcohol withdrawal can lead to a disorder known as delirium tremens, which is marked by hallucinations, confusion, fever, and, yes, seizures. Most people survive alcohol withdrawal, but death is a possibility, especially in cases involving delirium tremens.

But whether Winehouse succumbed to seizures is unconfirmed. The singer's autopy was inconclusive, and it may take weeks before the results of toxicology tests are known, the BBC reported.

NIH has more on alcohol withdrawal.