Rich Piana Cause Of Death: Girlfriend Chanel Jansen Denies Drug Overdose

Bodybuilder Rich Piana's girlfriend Chanel Jansen denied rumors that her boyfriend died of a drug overdose. Piana was hospitalized Aug. 7 after he collapsed and hit his head in the bathroom of his Florida home, following which he was put in a medically induced coma. He died on Aug. 25.

In a lengthy YouTube video, Jansen spoke out about Piana's death, saying that the bodybuilder did not die of a drug overdose, and detailing what happened. She said she was giving him a haircut when he collapsed.

"I thought he was stretching and all of a sudden he started to fall back to me," she said. "I said, 'Baby, are you OK?' As he came back, his eyes were rolling into the back of his head."

"I went to catch him and he was sweating so he slipped, bumped his head, fell back," she continued. "His eyes were wide open and he was gasping."

Jansen said that Piana's cause of death was a heart attack and he "was gone before he even hit the floor."

"They said he had no chance of a meaningful recovery and he was in a vegetative state," Jansen told People magazine. "I said, 'It's a good thing it's not up to me, because I love him so much I'm too selfish to make that decision [to take him off life support].' He was breathing on his own for nearly a week, and then he just let go."

While addressing steroid use, Jansen said: "You all know he's been doing steroids for 20 years and it shouldn't be any surprise that he had steroids in his house."

"Twenty bottles is not a whole lot and they had been there a year," she continued. "He wasn't overly juicing."

The 46-year-old was a former Mr. California and received the title in 1998. He won the Sacramento Pro and the Border States Classic XXX Bodybuilding, Fitness and Figure Championships in 2009. In 1999, he was placed 7th at the National Physique Committee (NPC) USA Championships and came 11th in the 2003 edition.

On the day of his hospitalization, first responders found 20 bottles of steroids, some white powder, straws and a credit card. However, in the latest video, Jansen explained the white powder saying it wasn't cocaine but a protein powder.

Piana had been open about his steroid use, despite saying that its usage "can kill you."

"If you have the choice to stay natural or do steroids, stay natural. There's no reason to do steroids, you're only hurting your body, you're hurting yourself," he explained in an April 2016 YouTube video. "If you want to become a professional bodybuilder, guess what — you're probably going to have to f——' do 'em. You're not going to have a choice."

Jansen had been by Piana's side since his hospitalization and had been updating his fans about his health through social media.

Piana also has a huge social media presence with over 1.2 million followers on Instagram and Facebook. Most of his videos posted on his YouTube channel garner 200,000 or more views.

Piana was earlier married to Sara Heimis, with whom he split after nearly one year of marriage.

Watch Jansen's emotional video, which was published Aug. 30 and has received more than 1 million views as of now, below: