A man accused of putting his fist through a Claude Monet painting told gardaí he had done "nothing wrong" and had "nothing to hide".
Andrew Shannon, 48, claims he "fell" against the €10m painting at the National Gallery of Ireland in Dublin on 29 June, 2012.
Mr Shannon, of Willans Way, Ongar, Dublin has pleaded not guilty to causing criminal damage to the oil painting from 1874, entitled Argenteuil Basin with a Single Sailboat.
His trial at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard he told gardaí hours after the incident he had a "serious heart condition" for which he had been getting treatment for about 15 years.
Sergeant Conor O'Braonáin told Kerida Naidoo BL, prosecuting, that Mr Shannon said his heart problems dated back to a car accident he had had at the age of 28 or 29.
"My chest was crushed in on a valve for two years, I was very badly injured and had a lot of surgery, grafts and all," he told gardaí.
Earlier in the trial, the court heard Mr Shannon had quadruple bypass surgery a year after the incident.
He said he was on numerous medications and been on disability allowance of €188 a week since 2006 or 2007.
Consultant surgeon Nicholas Walcot told Brendan Grehan SC, defending, that he supervised coronary surgery on Mr Shannon in July this year when he had 90% blockages in all three major vessels of the heart.
Asked for his expert opinion on the event in the gallery, Mr Walcot said Mr Shannon getting up and walking away was "a little bit inconsistent".
"If somebody collapses, I would have thought the person would stay down or sit down quickly," he said.
The trial continues on Monday before Judge Desmond Hogan and a jury of seven women and five men.
