Watch : Celebrity Deaths 2026: Catherine O’Hara, Eric Dane & More Fallen Stars Nicholas Brendon never shied away from sharing his health struggles. Before the Buffy the Vampire Slayer died on March 20 from natural causes, Nicholas and his family had kept his fans updated about the health issues that the 54-year-old was facing. Especially when he had to be rushed to the hospital in August 2022 after suffering from a cardiac incident and getting diagnosed with tachycardia, a congenital heart defect in which the heart beats abnormally fast. “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,” his sister wrote in a since-deleted Instagram post, perThe Los Angeles Times. “Nicky is doing fine now but he had to be rushed to emergency about two weeks ago because of a cardiac incident (tachycardia/arrhythmia).” She also explained Nicholas had faced a similar health scare in 2021 after undergoing a second spinal surgery to help manage his cauda equina syndrome (CES), a rare medical emergency that happens when nerve bundles in the lumbar or sacral spine are compressed or not functioning properly, according to American Association of Neurological Surgeons.