Guitarist Al Di Meola suffers severe heart attack onstage in Romania

Grammy Award-winning musician Al Di Meola is in stable condition after suffering a heart attack while performing in Bucharest, Romania, on Wednesday night.

Photographer Dragos Cristescu told The Associated Press that the 69-year-old guitarist grabbed his chest before experiencing difficulty walking offstage. Backing band members reportedly played a little longer before the show was called off.

According to a statement from the Bagdasar-Arseni emergency hospital, Di Meola was sent to the cardiology ward and treated for a segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI).

Regarded as the “most severe type of heart attack” by the Minnesota Department of Health, a STEMI is “caused by a complete blockage in a coronary artery” as per the American Heart Association. More than 280,000 people in the U.S. are reportedly affected by the life-threatening condition each year.

Di Meola has gained international recognition for specializing in jazz and world music over the past 50 years. The Jersey City, New Jersey, native, who cites the Beatles and jazz guitarists Kenny Burrell and Tav Farlow as influences, was a member of the 1970s jazz-rock fusion group Return to Forever, which also featured Chick Corea, Lenny White and Stanley Clarke.

The quartet won a Grammy Award for best instrumental jazz performance for their fifth studio album, “No Mystery.”

Soon after the supergroup disbanded, Di Meola struck out on a successful solo career amassing sales of over 6 million records worldwide.

His Electric Years Tour was scheduled to play Brazil, Argentina and parts of the U.S. for the remainder of 2023.

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