Vanesa Lopez
11/26/2020 2:53 PM
Clarín.com
Society
Updated 11/26/2020 3:00 PM
After the shock over the death of Diego Maradona, the preliminary results of the autopsy on Diez's body were known.
According to the report, the cause of death was "acute heart failure, in a patient with
dilated cardiomyopathy
."
For at least 20 years it was known that
Maradona
had this disease.
"He suffers from severe dilated cardiomyopathy," the director of the Sacre Coeur Institute, where the soccer player was hospitalized, reported in January 2000 at a press conference.
To learn more about this pathology,
Clarín
spoke with Roberto Peidro, cardiologist and director of the Institute of Sports Sciences of the Favaloro University.
He knew Maradona very closely, but clarifies that he was not his doctor, since he had not seen him for a long time.
“I am very shocked, because I know he was a great guy.
I have a very special affection for him and his entire family.
Because we live many things together, good and bad ”, Peidro recalled.
Maradona died of "acute heart failure in a patient with dilated cardiomyopathy." Photo Juan Manuel Foglia.
He also commented on his last minutes of life.
"The autopsy says '
lung congestion
.'
All autopsies of all people say 'lung congestion' when they die.
Because when there is a cardiac arrest the lung fills with fluid.
So that's not something specific, "explains the doctor.
In this way, Peidro discards what is circulating in some audios that say that Maradona died "alone and drowned" because he had acute lung edema.
"Actually, an autopsy cannot say that in any way," he says.
“Very likely, from what I saw, it was
sudden death
for him while
sleeping
.
A serious arrhythmia he had from dilated cardiomyopathy.
Hopefully.
Because nothing is suffered in that
.
That is what I intimately, within the terrible thing that happened, I would like to suppose.
And that is a cause that can occur ”, says Peidro.
The causes
Dilated cardiomyopathy is a disease of the heart muscle, which occurs for different causes, and which causes an
enlargement of the heart chambers.
"The heart muscle is diseased for a cause that we do not know.
They can be viral, due to diseases in the coronary arteries, due to toxins.
There can be many causes
”, Peidro describes.
It is something common within heart disease, because it can be had by many people with many types of diseases.
In 2000, Maradona was interned at the Sacre Coeur Institute.
"He suffers from severe dilated cardiomyopathy," wrote the director.
Photo Archive.
For example, a virus can cause inflammation in the heart, which can go unnoticed, and dilated cardiomyopathy appears after a while.
Another possibility is that it is caused by myocarditis, which is a heart disease.
According to Peidro, dilated cardiomyopathy
is not a unique disease
, but rather has a wide range of possibilities.
“It derives from many diseases.
So it depends on the origin and the degree of dilation, that is, the enlargement of the heart, is it more serious or less serious ”, he comments.
Evolution and treatment
The enlargement of its cavities means that
the heart cannot contract
properly and give it blood according to the needs of the body.
It usually takes a long time to evolve.
Depending on the severity of the dilated cardiomyopathy, people sometimes have serious arrhythmias that
can lead to sudden death
.
“There are very high mortality rates when dilated cardiomyopathy is very serious.
In other words, when the heart is very enlarged and contracts very little, ”says Peidro.
The disease that Maradona had generates an enlargement of the heart chambers.
Photo Reuters.
In some severe cases, it may be necessary to search for a donor.
“Many times people go out to ask for a heart for a relative who was well and suddenly needs a transplant.
That is the extreme.
This is a dilated cardiomyopathy that occurs rapidly, ”says the doctor.
In less serious cases, "there are many people who have it and
spend years and do the best
," says Peidro and adds that "they are even playing ball."
In fact, they are recommended to exercise, because it is an ally for treatment.
"There were even athletes who had myocarditis, their heart dilated, and after six months it improved and they were able to continue doing sports," the specialist closes.
DD
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