Fiorentina’s Astori died of cardiac arrest, autopsy finds

Italian footballer Davide Astori likely died from a cardiac arrest linked to the slowing of his heart rate, Italian media reported on Tuesday following the initial results of his autopsy.

The 31-year-old Fiorentina captain and Italy international was found dead in his hotel room in Udine on Sunday ahead of a scheduled Serie A match against Udinese, which was later postponed.

Doctors who carried out the player’s autopsy referred to a “cardiac arrest without a visible explanation, in all likelihood due to a bradyarrhythmia (slow heart rate)”, Corriere dello Sport and Tuttosport reported.

“We won’t have the definitive diagnosis for two months (and then) we will be able to say with certainty that there was no detectable cause or any other element of any type,” Udine prosecutor Antonio de Nicolo said.

De Nicolo was quoted Sunday as saying Astori died of “natural causes” after a “cardiac circulatory collapse” — a type of heart attack, which the autopsy appears to confirm.

Astori’s body will be taken to the Italian football association’s national training centre in Coverciano, Florence, where people will be able to play their last respects to the defender.

His funeral will be held at the Santa Croce basilica on Thursday before his burial near Bergamo, in northern Italy, where Astori grew up and his parents still live.