Vic man 'died from being bound and robbed'

Two men robbed a Victorian man and left him tied up in his home, an ordeal that caused a stress-induced heart condition that killed him, a court has been told.

Christopher Meade, 29, was found dead with his hands tied up and his feet bound at his Doreen home, north of Melbourne, in June 2012.

Jack Ray, 23, from Yarrambat, and Nicholas Vella, 25, from Diamond Creek, have both pleaded not guilty to manslaughter, aggravated burglary and false imprisonment.

Prosecutor Andrew Grant said the two men wanted to punish Meade, believing he stole items from their friends and relatives.

The two exchanged text messages in the lead-up to Mr Meade's death plotting to retrieve the stolen items, Mr Grant said.

"They intended to meet with him, to fight, possibly, and to seriously assault Mr Meade to set an example," he told the Victorian Supreme Court on Tuesday.

He said Ray and Vella tied up Mr Meade and left him unable to fend for himself or call anyone for help.

Mr Grant said the results of an autopsy suggested Mr Meade died from a cardiac arrhythmia caused by the massive amount of stress he suffered.

However Ray's barrister Christopher Dane QC said Mr Meade had an undiagnosed heart condition and was using ice at the time.

"Whatever else was going on at that house - he had a heart attack and died," he told the court.

The trial, before Justice Terry Forrest, continues.