Nicholas Brendon was very open about his health struggles before he died.

The Buffy the Vampire Slayer star passed away at the age of 54 on Friday (March 20). In a statement shared by his family, it was revealed he died in his sleep from natural causes.

In August 2022, he was diagnosed with a congenital heart defect called tachycardia that led to a cardiac incident.

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“Nicky sends his love and wanted me to apologize that he hasn’t been going live as much lately and to give everyone an update. Nicky is doing fine now but he had to be rushed to emergency about two weeks ago because of a cardiac incident (tachycardia/arrhythmia),” wrote his sister at the time in a now-deleted Instagram post, per E! News.

She also shared that the actor had suffered a health scare in 2021 after a second spinal surgery to manage his cauda equina syndrome, described as “a rare medical emergency that happens when nerve bundles in the lumbar or sacral spine are compressed or not functioning properly.”

He had a bad fall in February 2021, which is what triggered his spinal injury and required surgery and then his manager told the Los Angeles Times that his spinal cord was punctured during the surgery that fall, resulting in tachycardia.

Nicholas would often share updates on his Instagram along with some of the paintings he did.

“Sorry for the extra long disappearing act. After two spinal surgeries and a heart attack, I’ve had multiple doctor appointments to juggle and dealing with health insurance and pre-approvals feels nearly as emotionally exhausting and painful as dealing with my actual injuries,” he wrote in a post published in April 2023.

He continued, “You’d think when the doctor says someone needs an urgent MRI and possibly an additional emergency surgery, that the insurance company would get back to the doctor with any kind of answer at all.”

His Buffy co-star Alyson Hannigan shared a tribute to him after his passing was publicly announced.