The Serious Medical Condition That Nick Carter Lives With

Nick Carter has been very open about his past struggle with addiction and how badly it impacted his life. The Backstreet Boys singer — who lost his sister Leslie to a drug overdose in 2012 and his brother Aaron in 2022 — blamed his troubled childhood and his struggle with fame for his drug and alcohol dependency. "Looking back at how alcohol was part of our playtime, I realize just how deeply my parents' drinking affected me. It was as if I was programmed to drink," he wrote in his 2013 memoir, "Facing the Music and Living to Talk About It" (via Radar). In addition to drinking heavily in his teens, Carter said he experimented with drugs in his 20s, starting with marijuana and "moving up to cocaine, Ecstasy, and prescription painkillers," among other substances.

Speaking to Entertainment Tonight in 2015, Carter said it was neither the DUI nor the countless brawls that served as his wake-up call to get sober, but his physical appearance. His weight had ballooned to 224 pounds and Carter knew he was spinning out of control. "Your physical appearance... when you look in the mirror and you're doing things and you're seeing that you don't look healthy," he explained. But the impact his addiction had on Carter was, in fact, far more serious than that. In 2008, the singer was diagnosed with a serious medical condition, due to his substance abuse problems — one that nearly put an end to his life.

Nick Carter was touring with the Backstreet Boys in Europe when he started experiencing fatigue and a mild discomfort in his chest. Concerned for himself, the singer, who was only 29 at the time, went to see a cardiologist back in Florida and do a series of medical tests. But, just before he was due to get his results back, Carter went off on a self-destructive bender. "I went out and just went nuts," he told People. "I drank so much and I did a bunch of blow." He added, "I felt like I was trying to kill myself — because I didn't want to get the results."

When he did learn about his diagnosis, Carter was justifiably horrified. He revealed that he was diagnosed with a heart disease called cardiomyopathy, which is a condition that makes it harder for the heart to pump blood to the rest of the body and causes heart failure, according to Mayo Clinic. (Singer George Michael, comedian Jerry Lewis, and actor Chris Penn all died of the same disease.) Immediately, Carter knew that he would have to straighten himself out if he didn't want to suffer the same fate. "My doctor said, 'You need to change your lifestyle. I don't want you to end up like that,'" recalled Carter. "I was like, 'I don't want to end up like that either. ... I don't want to die.'"

In 2014, six years after his shocking diagnosis, Nick Carter spoke to the Los Angeles Times to discuss his health and recovery from cardiomyopathy. After learning about his condition, Carter said he cleaned up his act and worked on a major lifestyle change. In addition to quitting drugs and alcohol, the "Everybody" singer exercised daily and made significant changes in his diet, cutting back on the junk and consuming more whole foods. Coupled with a workout regimen that consisted of cardio, weight training, and the occasional hike, Carter ended up losing more than 30 pounds in a matter of only eight months. "A year later, the doctor said he couldn't see the inflammation in my heart anymore," he told the Los Angeles Times.

However, that's not to say that his recovery journey was entirely smooth-sailing. In another interview, the New York native said there have been a few instances where he would drink alcohol and struggled to control himself. A talk with his cardiologist ultimately set him straight. "I'm trying to make myself better," Carter told People in 2009. "But I don't regret anything that I've gone through, because it makes me who I am."

If you or anyone you know needs help with addiction issues, help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).