Tyka Nelson's cause of death has been revealed.
According to TMZ, Prince's sister suffered from congestive heart failure, however, her heart had been weakened by substance abuse, says authorities. TMZ reports that The Minnesota Department of Health who issued Nelson's death certificate, lists cardiac arrest as her primary cause of death with congestive heart failure being the secondary cause, and "substance use disorder" listed as a contributing condition (although no specific substance is named).
The death certificate also reveals that Tyka, 64, went into cardiac arrest 45 minutes before she was pronounced dead, following a battle with abnormal heart function for over four months.
Tyka passed away earlier in the month on November 4th in Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota and had been suffering from heart problems for years. Nelson leaves behind her two sons.
Nelson was born to John L. Nelson and Mattie Shaw Nelson as Prince's only full sister. Along with her brother, Tyka pursued a music career, releasing four albums, 1988's Royal Blue, 1992's Yellow Moon, Red Sky, 2008's A Brand New Me, and 2011's Hustler. Her last public performance was in Australia in 2018. After announcing her retirement, Tyka was scheduled to hold a farewell concert in Minnesota in June, but she reportedly fell ill and couldn't go through with the show.