Larry King is recovering from heart procedure, but ‘did not have a heart attack,’ says rep
Larry King did not have a heart attack or go into cardiac arrest, but he is recovering from a heart procedure, Yahoo can confirm.
The renowned broadcaster, 85, was scheduled for an angioplasty on Thursday. However, prior to the procedure, “he experienced angina” — chest pain caused by reduced blood flow to the heart — and was hospitalized early to be examined. His doctor then performed the angioplasty — a procedure temporarily inserting and inflating a tiny balloon to open clogged heart arteries — and inserted stents to reopen the heart bypass he had in 1987.
“He has been recuperating in the hospital and is scheduled to be released soon,” a rep for Ora TV, which produces Larry King Now and PoliticKING, tells Yahoo in a statement.
The statement noted that King is expected “to make a full recovery” and added that “contrary to published reports, his doctors say he did not have a heart attack and he did not go into cardiac arrest.”
It ended with, “Larry is in good spirits and thanks everyone for their concern.” And he’s “expected to be back to work ... soon.”
Ora TV statement on recent reports about Larry King’s health: pic.twitter.com/kmyALOGNiN
— Larry King (@kingsthings) April 29, 2019
King suffered a major heart attack in 1987, resulting in quintuple-bypass surgery. The following year he founded the Larry King Cardiac Foundation, which pays for life-saving cardiac procedures for people who otherwise would not be able to afford them.
He’s written about coping with heart disease, including in the book Mr. King, You're Having a Heart Attack: How a Heart Attack and Bypass Surgery Changed My Life and told the story of his heart attack in the 2015 British documentary film The Widowmaker.
King has had other health woes as well. In 2017, he was diagnosed with stage 1 lung cancer, which was noticed during a routine physical. He underwent surgery to have the malignant mass removed.
He was also diagnosed with diabetes after his heart attack in the ‘80s, and had prostate cancer in 1999.
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