"After A Short/Brief Illness"

[monster]

This seems to be a popular phrase for reporting deaths these days. Not just celebs (although the use that spurred this question was a celeb death, the one before was someone local). The best I can come up with is "not an accident or cancer and that's all you need to know"

What do you interpret when you read this?

I've seen it used for people who had strokes and heart attacks which weren't immediately fatal but from which they didn't really recover, but also for people who I suspect ODd (whether intentional or not). It seems like it's a euphemism for something very specific but...