The coordinator of the medical board that prepared the report on the death of Argentine star Diego Maradona testified in court today that, during his final days, the footballer exhibited “signs of heart failure” that should have been monitored.
“Edema in the lower limbs, excessive urination, snoring, shortness of breath, signs of hypertension, and tachycardia are all warning signs consistent with heart failure that should have been treated,” stated forensic pathologist Carlos Mauricio Cassinelli.
According to the former director of Forensic Medicine for the Argentine Scientific Police, one of the most evident warning signs—which was ignored—was the excessive swelling Maradona exhibited.
“This fluid accumulation was a secondary sign of heart failure. The heart cannot pump the amount of blood it receives, and fluid begins to spread to other parts of the body,” the specialist explained.
Cassinelli coordinated a medical board established in 2021 at the request of the Argentine justice system to evaluate the circumstances of Maradona’s death.
According to the witness, the board had access to all of the patient’s medical records, and the report was a “collaborative effort” in which more than twenty professionals from various specialties reached a consensus.
The expert noted that “there was no doctor responsible for overseeing the patient’s care,” even though neurosurgeon Leopoldo Luque and psychiatrist Agustina Cosachov—both of whom are defendants in the case—”were listed as responsible for the home care” Maradona received from November 11 to 25, 2020, shortly before his death.
He accused the doctors of ignoring warning signs they were aware of, as revealed in text and audio messages presented during the trial. “At the very least, there should have been an in-person consultation to evaluate these symptoms—a consultation with an internal medicine specialist or a cardiologist—or even hospitalization for a proper diagnosis,” he emphasized.
He added: “A patient with dilated cardiomyopathy caused by cocaine use will never have a normal heart again. Heart failure can be managed, but we all agree that he should have continued taking the medication for this chronic condition.”
According to the testimony of two doctors who treated him at a private clinic before his death, Maradona had stopped taking his hypertension medication shortly before he passed away.
