I seem to recall that he knew he had a bad heart valve, but he either ignored or put off having the valve repaired. My memory is only good for about two weeks, so I could be way off.
Thanks.
I found this old thread from when the suit was first filed. Interesting reading. It sheds a little light, but not much.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1211651/posts