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ABC health expert Norman Swan has suggested cricket legend Shane Warne and Senator Kimberley Kitching’s deaths were Covid-related.
Warne died aged just 52 of a sudden heart attack on March 4 while on holiday in Thailand a few weeks after a mild case of Covid.
Senator Kitching succumbed to a suspected heart attack six days later, at the same age, and also contracted Covid in the months before her death.
Despite both having other medical risk factors, Swan said it was ‘too much of a coincidence’ that they ‘died not long after a Covid infection’.
Warne (pictured with his children) died aged just 52 of a sudden heart attack on March 4 while on holiday in Thailand a few weeks after a mild case of Covid
The former GP turned pundit was discussing British research linking contracting the virus to a greater risk of heart attacks on ABC News on Tuesday morning.
The study of 48 million unvaccinated patients claimed Covid may have led to 10,500 cases of heart attacks, strokes and other blood clot complications such as deep vein thrombosis.
‘My view is that it’s too much of a coincidence that Shane Warne and the Labor senator in Victoria died not long after a Covid infection, and people are reporting sudden death after Covid infection. It’s not benign,’ he said.
Swan summarised the findings of the study, which found the risk of arterial thrombosis was 21 times greater, and 33 times for veinous thrombosis.
‘A veinous thrombosis can make you seriously ill or kill you… even six months out after the infection, the risk is between 30 per cent and 50 per cent higher of having a heart attack, stroke or a thrombosis in your legs,’ he said.
Swan explained that warnings from state governments in the past week about a growing fourth wave of coronavirus were just about reducing strain on hospitals.
He said politicians weren’t worried about long Covid and other complications, but Australians should be.
Labor Senator Kimberley Kitching (pictured) died aged 52 from a heart attack on March 10
ABC health expert Norman Swan suggested both their deaths were Covid-related
Some ABC viewers expressed their support for Swan’s Covid warning on social media, but others were unimpressed with his references to Warne and Senator Kitching.
‘Extremely disrespectful to speculate about causes of death with zero evidence merely to push your chosen barrow,’ one wrote.
Swan is not the first medical expert to draw a link between Covid and Warne’s death, based on other studies finding increased risks.
Professor Jeremy Nicholson, pro-vice chancellor for Health Sciences at Murdoch University, said there was a ‘significant possibility’ an underlying heart condition could be exacerbated by the virus.
‘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,’ he said days after the cricket star’s death.
Professor Nicholson wrote in a scientific paper it was observed that the rate of cardiovascular events was greatly increased for up to a year for Covid patients.
One of the last pictures taken of Shane Warne hours before his death at a luxury resort in Koh Samui on March 4
He said while not proven, the use of a ventilator could increase the risk of cardiovascular disease, with the virus sometimes causing arteries to harden.
‘We do know that SARS COV-2 infections are highly atherogenic in the acute phase and that impacts on heart attack risks and strokes,’ he said.
Professor Nicholson said the shock death of the cricketer highlighted the increased risk at the population level for people who have contracted Covid-19.
A Washington University study at the time found a year after catching Covid, patients had a 72 per cent higher rate of heart failure and their risk of heart attack jumped by 63 per cent.
Warne’s family said he was suffering chest pains and asthma flair-ups in the weeks before he died.
His former doctor Peter Brukner blamed the spin king’s lifestyle of a combination of a longstanding smoking habit, poor diet and other factors.
‘Warney, if he had heart disease, which sounds like he did, you know, that didn’t happen overnight in Thailand,’ he said at the time.
‘It’s been happening for 20, 30 years from smoking, poor diet, etc, etc.’
CCTV captures Warne casually strolling through the villa holding several shirts after a visit to his favourite tailor, the last time he was seen alive
Senator Kitching was suffering from hyperthyroidism that caused her to lose weight in the months before her death.
The condition can ’cause problems that masquerade as heart disease or make existing heart disease worse’, according to a Harvard study.
Hyperthyroidism can mimic other health problems, which can make it difficult for doctors to diagnose.
The long list of symptoms included rapid heartbeat (tachycardia) – commonly more than 100 beats a minute, irregular heartbeat (arrhythmia), and pounding of your heart (palpitations).
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