'Significant possibility': Shock theory emerges in Shane Warne's death

A leading professor in health sciences has suggested Shane Warne's heart attack may have been linked to his two bouts of Covid-19.

Warne died at the age of 52 last week from a suspected heart attack in his villa on Koh Samui in Thailand.

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The Aussie cricket legend had contracted Covid-19 twice in the last 12 months, a factor that experts say may have played into his sudden death.

After initially catching Covid while coaching in England last August, Warne got it again just months later.

“It was only like a little flu the second time,” Warne told the Herald Sun.

“The second time was just a bit of a sniffle and the first time I was quite bad.”

Professor Jeremy Nicholson, Pro-Vice Chancellor for Health Sciences at Murdoch University in Perth, told news.com this week that: "Covid-19 causes a major shift in cardiovascular risk markers."

Prof Nicholson said there was a “significant possibility” that a pre-existing heart condition could be accelerated by Covid, particularly in someone like Warne who had used a ventilator in his recovery.

“We do know that SARS COV-2 infections are highly atherogenic in the acute phase (cause hardening of the arteries) and that impacts on heart attack risks and strokes,” he said, remarking that it was "strange" that Warne had used a ventilator.

“Shane may well have had some sub-clinical level pre-existing atherosclerosis (this is very common in men over 40) that was then accelerated by Covid-19.

"This is just speculation but it does highlight the increased risk at the population level for people who have had Covid-19, especially in its more severe forms."

Warne revealed at the time: “It wasn’t because I could not breathe, or anything like that, it was basically a special ventilator that I was trialling to make sure there were no longer-lasting effects that Covid would have on me."

Study finds Covid can increase risk of heart failure

A recent study conducted by Washington University found that Covid patients had a 72 percent increased rate of heart failure one year after contracting the virus, and the risk of heart attack increased by 63 percent.

However the authors conceded: “The way Covid-19 infection might cause cardiovascular problems remains unclear."

Earlier this week Dr Peter Brukner - Warne’s long-time physician during his role as team doctor for the Australian cricket team - said the fact the legendary spinner suffered a suspected heart attack did not come as a shock to him.

“Warnie, if he had heart disease, which it sounds like he did, you know, that didn’t happen overnight in Thailand,” he said in an interview with Triple M Perth.

“It’s been happening for 20, 30 years from smoking, poor diet, etc, etc.”

Warne's former teammate and fellow Aussie cricket great Ian Healy admitted to similar fears that Warne's lifestyle would see him die prematurely.

“An early passing didn’t surprise me for Warnie,” Healy told The Today Show.

“He didn’t look after his body that well. He yo-yoed up and down.

“He didn’t put much sunscreen on. I thought it would have become skin issues for him over time, but not at 52.

"And he would have been full of beans right to the end, I bet.”

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