Diego Maradona's body contained a 'cocktail of prescription drugs’, tests reveal

Buenos Aires.  Diego Maradona had no traces of alcohol or illegal drugs in his blood and urine when he died, it has emerged.

But he was suffering major heart, liver and kidney problems.  And the blood and urine tests carried out after a post-mortem following the football star's tragic death in November did show up a cocktail of prescription drugs including Quetiapine, Venlafaxine and Levetiracetam, it was revealed on Wednesday, Mail Online reports.

Some of the pills had already been named as being among those the former Naples and Barcelona star is thought to have been taking in the run-up to his untimely death at a rented home near Buenos Aires following an operation to remove a blood clot in the brain.

Quetiapine is used to treat mood disorders including depression, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

Antidepressant Venlaxfaxine is sometimes used to treat panic attacks. Levitiracetam belongs to a class of drugs known as anticonvulsants and is used with other medication to treat epilepsy and try to decrease the number of seizures.

The drug Ranitidine was also detected, which is used for indigestion and heartburn but is not currently available in the UK and is the focus of an ongoing investigation into whether some ingredients can increase the risk of cancer.

Although some of the drugs found in his system can cause arrhythmia, the tests have confirmed there is no evidence Maradona was being given medication for the heart disease he was suffering.

The retired footballer's dire state of health was laid bare in the report compiled on the back of the follow-up toxicology tests, showing Maradona was suffering liver cirrhosis, a kidney disorder called acute tubular necrosis which can lead to acute kidney failure, coronary artery disease and myocardial fibrosis.

It had already been reported that his heart weighed 503 grams, almost double that of a normal heart for a man his age.

A doctor who asked not to be named told local press: 'His body was on the edge. Or over the edge.'

Diego was declared dead around midday on November 25.

Initial post-mortem results revealed the recovering cocaine addict, who also had alcohol problems, had suffered heart failure which caused a pulmonary edema.

Medics are also said to have detected dilated cardiomyopathy, a medical condition in which the heart muscle becomes weakened and enlarged and cannot pump enough blood to the rest of the body.