October 1993: Michael Jackson performs during a concert in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

It kills more people in the U.S. each year than breast cancer, lung cancer and HIV/AIDS combined. The condition is called sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) – and it only takes minutes to claim a person’s life.

“Sudden cardiac arrest is a real national tragedy,” Dr. Leslie Saxon, chief of cardiovascular medicine at the University of Southern California, told FOXNews.com. “It’s most often due to a sudden, very rapid heart rhythm. The heart goes so fast a person dies right away unless they’re shocked out of it with a defibrillator.”

While it hasn’t been confirmed what caused Michael Jackson to go into full cardiac arrest — the Associated Press reported Friday the singer was with a cardiologist when he collapsed and a person with knowledge of the situation said he appeared to have had a heart attack.

Paramedics arrived at his rented Los Angeles home around 12:30 p.m. Thursday and sources with the Los Angeles Fire Department said he wasn't breathing and had no pulse.

They tried resuscitate Jackson and took him to UCLA Medical Center where he was later pronounced dead.

“Even CPR can only bridge a person to a defibrillation,” Saxon said. “So the big thing about these events is they have to be witnessed. The odds are very good if someone witnesses it and shocks them right away. That’s why people in places such as airports and casinos have a higher rate of survival because there are a lot of people around and a lot of defibrillators.”

Saxon said the problem is – if the sudden cardiac arrest is not witnessed there’s less than 1 to 2 percent survival rate outside of a hospital.

“You only have minutes to restore good blood flow,” she said. “That’s why you have to act early because the brain and organs cannot live without blood flow.”

The fact is – is that it takes just 4 to 6 minutes after cardiac arrest before a person experiences brain death and ultimately complete death.

During sudden cardiac arrest, electrical impulses in the heart become rapid or chaotic, which causes the heart to suddenly stop beating, the American Heart Association said on its Web Site. It’s not the same as a heart attack. A heart attack occurs when the blood supply to part of the heart muscle is blocked. However, a heart attack may cause cardiac arrest.

Other common causes include heart disease, respiratory arrest, electrocution, drowning, choking and trauma. Cardiac arrest can also occur without any known cause.

“Most adults who have sudden cardiac arrest — it’s their first symptom — some people don’t even have chest pain,” Saxon said.

An adverse response to prescription drugs or illicit use of drugs can also cause arrhythmias leading to cardiac arrest.

Brian Oxman, Jackson’s spokesperson and longtime family, hinted that the singer may have had trouble with prescription drugs.

"This was something which I feared and something which I warned about," Oxman told CNN. "I can tell you for sure that this is something I warned about. Where there is smoke there is fire."

Oxman told CNN that the singer was taking drugs to deal with past injuries, such as a broken back and broken leg, which were getting in the way of his concert rehearsals.

Jackson was slated to kick-off a 50 concert tour starting in London July 13th.

An autopsy on Jackson will likely take place Friday.

Was Jackson Suffering From Lupus?

In October 2007, sources close to the pop star confirmed to FOXNews.com that he was suffering from lupus.

“Lupus is a chronic autoimmune disease where the immune system is unable to detect foreign invaders — like viruses – in the body,” Dr. Cynara Coomer, FOX News medical contributor and assistant professor of surgery at Mount Sinai Medical Center told FOXNews.com. “So the body creates autoantibodies – or antibodies that attack the body’s own healthy cells, causing inflammation.”

The inflammation caused by lupus can affect the joints, skin, kidneys, blood cells, heart, lungs and brain.

“Several studies have shown that this inflammatory process can occur in the arteries of the heart leading to the formation of fatty plaques, also known as atherosclerosis. This can result in cardiovascular disease and may lead to heart attack,” Coomer said.

Research estimates that at least 1.5 million Americans have lupus, the Lupus Foundation of America said on its Web site.

There are four different types of lupus, but the most common — and serious — form is systemic lupus erythematosus.

According to the Mayo Clinic, the signs and symptoms of lupus can come on suddenly or develop slowly over time and can include:

— Fatigue

— Fever

— Weight loss or gain

— Joint pain, stiffness and swelling

— Butterfly-shaped rash on the face that covers the cheeks and bridge of the nose

— Skin lesions that appear or worsen with sun exposure

— Mouth sores

— Hair loss

— Anxiety

— Depression

— Memory loss

“There’s no real known cause, but the most common type of patients afflicted are African Americans, American Indians and Asians,” Coomer said. “Certain antibiotics or infections, stress and some medications may lead to lupus.”

Click here for more on the article from 2007.

Warhol's Jackson goes to auction

A portrait by Andy Warhol of the late singer Michael Jackson is set to be auctioned in New York.

The 1984 portrait will be on show ahead of the sale at London's British Music Experience, inside the O2 Arena, where Jackson had been due to perform.

"This Andy Warhol portrait brings together the uncontested King of Pop Art with the uncontested King of Pop," said Janet Lehr, acting for the seller.

Warhol's painting of actress Liz Taylor, fetched $23.7m (£14m) in 2007.

In the same year, the 1963 painting Green Car Crash (Green Burning Car I) - depicting an overturned car on fire - sold for $71.7m (£42.8m), a record for a Warhol piece.

"The portrait was painted at the height of their careers and is a celebration of two of the great talents in global cultural history," said Ms Lehr, of the Jackson artwork.

American artist Warhol was a leading figure in the Pop Art movement, and he experimented by creating artworks from mass-produced images from American popular culture.

He died in 1987, following a gall bladder operation.

Autopsy results

The British Music Experience will be the only European venue to host the 1984 portrait ahead of the auction.

Earlier this week it was announced that details of Michael Jackson's autopsy results would be announced imminently.

Speculation continues about the possible role prescription drugs played in the singer's death.

The singer suffered a cardiac arrest at his rented home in Los Angeles on 25 June, at the age of 50.

Fans and contemporaries have been paying tribute to the king of pop - who has died at the age of 50. But what did Michael Jackson think of his own life and career?

Here - with the help of his music, and archive images from the days of the Jackson Five to the present - he reflects on his own vulnerabilities.

Audio from Harpo Productions - The Oprah Winfrey Show. Photographs from AP, PA, AFP and Getty Images. Slideshow by Paul Kerley. Publication date 26 June 2009.

see video at link below

Renowned rock photographer Kevin Mazur was at Michael Jackson's final tour rehearsal in Los Angeles last week.

Several images from the practice runs have now been released, showing the star dancing and smiling against large neon letters reading "This Is It".

Mazur, who first took pictures of Jackson during the 1984 Victory tour, told the BBC about the "magical" show that was being prepared before the entertainer's untimely death on Thursday.

The pictures were taken on 23 June, just two days before Jackson died

How much of the rehearsal did you see?

I was there for a couple of days. I was there on the first day when they built the stage, and I took photographs of the dancers and the back-up singers for the tour book. Then, the next day I was taking casual shots of the band and the dancers rehearsing when Michael arrived.

I was like an expectant father waiting for him to take to the stage, I was so excited. And when he came out, I was even more excited because Michael was back.

He was happy, he was energetic, he was full of life. I had such an adrenaline rush. It was like the first time I had photographed him, when he moonwalked.

People were saying he wasn't ready, and the first shows had been pushed back because of his health. Did you see any evidence of that?

A photo tells a story. Michael was physically fit and performing the same way that I photographed him through the years. You can look at the photos. I documented it, I was there.

So how did you feel when, four days later, you were told he had died?

I was so shocked, because from what I saw on Tuesday night, he was full of energy and full of life. I couldn't wait to see this show at the O2 arena with all the fans there.

How much of the production did you see? Were there any big surprises?

There were still certain elements that they had to put into place, but I saw them rehearse about a dozen songs. And Michael never stopped. He worked right through. He did 12 songs and he only paused a couple of times to tweak some stuff with the music and a little bit of the choreography.

They had a screen that ran the full length of the main stage and was maybe about 50 feet high. And, supposedly, I heard they were doing some 3D things. I've been shooting shows for 25 years and I'd never seen anything like that before. I was very curious to see how it would all come together.

The series of 50 concerts was due to begin in London on 13 July

So you could say the concert was really in the final stages of preparation - with all the individual songs coming together into a coherent show?

Yes, well... everything was pretty much staged and built. There were certain things they were still waiting to get - they had chandeliers they were going to put into the set. But musically and dancing-wise, I got to see it all. But I didn't get to see things like aerial lifts and a few other elements in the show.

And when Michael was done rehearsing, he and Kenny Ortega [choreographer and show producer] went off the stage and they were looking at a bunch of props they had for Thriller and they had a puppeteer using zombie-type creatures that were going to go through the audience. It looked really, really cool.

This was going to be like no show anyone had ever seen.

The picture that has gone around the world today is of Michael in a grey suit, pointing into the centre of the auditorium. What do you remember much about that shot?

That might have been Black Or White - but I don't remember. It's so hard for me to keep track of the songs while I'm shooting, because it's such an adrenalin rush for me. I'm just too excited, and I'm juggling round numerous cameras. But I do know this, it was magical.

There are rumours today that the rehearsals had been filmed and that segments of the concert will be released as a tribute. Were you aware of that?

Not specifically - but everything was documented. That's why I was there. I was there to keep a record photographically, and they also had videographers. He's Michael Jackson and, as you know, he documents everything.

Kevin Mazur was speaking to BBC Entertainment News reporter Mark Savage.

Kevin Mazur speaking on sirus radio