Edward Gorecki, 33, of Ballards Road, died on Christmas Eve after complaining that he felt unwell.
An inquest into his death was opened on Tuesday, May 6, after toxicology tests showed he had painkiller and anxiety medication drugs in his system.
Coroner’s officer Ian Beresford told East London Coroner’s Court: “Mr Gorecki complained of feeling unwell with a sore throat and a headache. He went to have a bath.”
When he was still in the bathroom an hour later, his sister went to the door and “heard a snoring sound coming from inside”.
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“She entered the bathroom and found him in respiratory distress,” said Mr Beresford.
She called the London Ambulance Service, but “despite their best efforts, they were unable to resuscitate him.”
A post-mortem examination found he had suffered “acute pulmonary edema” – meaning an abnormal build-up of fluid in the lungs; acute heart failure and ischemic heart disease.
He was also suffering from “acute drug toxicity”, the coroner ruled.
“I’m satisfied on those facts this death occurred in circumstances requiring an inquest to be opened,” said coroner Nadia Persaud.
Inquests are held in public, in the public interest, to investigate the causes of unnatural deaths and whether future similar deaths might be avoidable.
“From the family, I would like some general background about Edward and if they have any information about his use of drugs then that would be of assistance,” the coroner said.
“If they have any concerns surrounding his death then I would like details of those.”
She added that if Edward had been under the care of any drug or alcohol service, she would like a report from them.
The final inquest was provisionally scheduled for October 9.
