Maradona death trial: cardiologist says warnings should have altered medical approach | OneFootball

According to L'Équipe, a cardiologist told the Maradona death trial on Thursday that red flags in his final days should have prompted a change in care.

Gustavo Di Niro, a member of the 22-strong interdisciplinary commission created by Argentine justice in 2021, said the treating team failed to escalate to a higher complexity setting and that home hospitalisation was not appropriate if organ dysfunction and heart failure were suspected.

Earlier in the week, pathologist Carlos Cassinelli, a leading figure on the commission, listed ignored alarms such as oedema, breathlessness, signs of hypertension and tachycardia, and said the deterioration was progressive for at least 10 days.

Di Niro argued Maradona’s condition, including pre-existing cardiac lesions and fluid accumulation, indicated a subacute or chronic process rather than a sudden event, undermining the defence line of some accused who maintain the death was unavoidable and abrupt.

Maradona was found dead at his home in Argentina on 25 November 2020, aged 60. The official cause was cardiorespiratory arrest with pulmonary oedema, after what experts described as several hours of agony.

Seven healthcare workers, including a neurosurgeon, doctor, psychiatrist, psychologist and nurses, have been on trial since mid-April in San Isidro, north of Buenos Aires, to determine the cause of the former Argentina captain’s death. They deny responsibility, face up to 25 years in prison, and the trial is expected to extend beyond August.

Source: L'Équipe

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