'That didn't happen overnight in Thailand': Former Cricket Australia doctor speaks on Warne's death

Australia legend Shane Warne tragically passed away from a suspected heart attack last week. Warne, 52, had been on a holiday in Thailand with his friends when he breathed his last. Warne will be buried at a private family funeral and a state memorial service will be held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on the evening of March 30, the Premier of his home state Victoria announced on Wednesday.

A former Cricket Australia doctor has now talked in detail about Shane Warne's health, insisting that Warne's problems with hearts "didn't happen overnight." 

"Warnie, if he had heart disease, which sounds like he did, you know, that didn't happen overnight in Thailand. It's been happening for 20, 30 years from smoking, poor diet, etc, etc," Dr Peter Brukner said in an interview with Triple M Perth, as quoted by Fox Sports.

Brukner, despite his knowledge of Warne's complications relating to his heart, said he was shocked to hear the news.

"None of us can really believe it, can we? He was a larger-than-life character," said Brukner.

Earlier, Warne's close friend and former Australia teammate Ian Healy had also acknowledged that Warne had been a little careless in terms of his health.

"An early passing didn't surprise me for Warnie. He didn't look after his body that well. He yo-yoed up and down," Healy told The Today Show, as quoted by Fox Sports.

"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.

"The issue with these things is you don't develop heart disease in a minute. It's a very gradual process," he said.

Just before dawn on Thursday, Warne's coffin — draped in an Australian flag — was put into an ambulance at the Thai Police Forensic Institute and driven to an international airport. Local media said a private jet was expected to fly Warne's body back to his hometown of Melbourne, Australia.