Thai police said Shane Warne's family said he had a history of heart problems. Photo / Supplied
Thai police said Shane Warne's family said he had a history of heart problems. Photo / Supplied
Thai police have revealed Shane Warne was suffering chest pains before he left Australia for a holiday in Koh Samui.
Police Colonel Yuthana Sirisombat told reporters on Saturday night his family had informed them of the late cricket legend's history of heart disease and asthma and their concern about his health before he left Australia last week.
The 52-year-old had recently "seen a doctor about his heart", Sirisombat said.
Colonel Sirisombat said it was these family revelations — and a review of CCTV footage — that led police to rule out any foul play in the father-of-three's death.
Warne's body has been sent to Suratthani Hospital for an autopsy, as his family fights for it to be returned to Australia as soon as possible.
A masseuse had visited Warne on Friday but police were not clear on what time of the day.
Around 5.15pm he was found face down on his bed after a suspected heart attack by close friend Andrew Neophitou, who was an executive producer on a recently released documentary on Warne's life.
The first day of the Test match between Australian and Pakistan was playing on the television in his room.
"They were meant to meet some people at 5pm. Neo was next door, he's always on time," Warne's long-time manager James Erskine told The Age.
"He realised he wasn't well. He tried to give mouth-to-mouth, tried to resuscitate him, he had no heartbeat, the ambulance came 20 minutes later and an hour and a bit later he was pronounced dead."
Police confirmed no drugs were found in the room but took samples from a water bottle.
Erskine rejected any claims Warne's death was linked to his reputation as a man who liked to party. He was visiting close friend Gareth Edwards, a poker-playing mate who runs the resort, to begin what was supposed to be a three-month trip.
The group of friends Warne was holidaying with talk to police. Photo / Bo Phut Police Station/Handout
"He was on holiday, having a lie down, siesta, he hadn't been drinking, he'd been on this diet to lose weight," he said.
"He didn't drink much. Everyone thinks he's a big boozer but he's not a big boozer at all. I sent him a crate of wine, 10 years later it's still there. He doesn't drink, never took drugs, ever. He hated drugs, so nothing untoward."
It came after Aussie cricket great Ian Healy said he was not surprised by Warne's premature death.
Police inside the villa on Koh Samui, Thailand, where cricketer Shane Warne was found dead from an apparent heart attack. Photo / Royal Thai Police via Matichon online
Healy said he was worried Warne would have been battling cancer at a young age.
"An early passing didn't surprise me for Warnie," Healy told The Today Show on Saturday.
"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."
