Tamar Braxton Drops Out of 'DWTS' After Blood Clots Found in Lungs
Tamar Braxton. (Photo: AP)
Tamar Braxton has taken herself out of the competition on ABC’s Dancing with the Stars due to issues with her health.
Series producer BBC Worldwide Productions said Wednesday that Braxton asked to withdraw from DWTS for medical reasons, which it did not specify. But on her Instagram account, Braxton wrote that she’s been diagnosed with blood clots in her lungs and was announcing her departure from the show “with a heavy heart.” She’s also dropping out as a guest singer in Kem’s “Promise to Love” tour, she said.
Braxton posted a photo of herself in a hospital bed, looking wan and holding a teddy bear. Her Dancing with the Stars partner, Valentin Chmerkovskiy, was at her side. Her decision came after she nearly missed last Monday’s show.
Dancing with the Stars host Tom Bergeron told the audience that Braxton had been taken to the hospital earlier in the day, after a dress rehearsal. Toward the end of the live broadcast, Braxton was shown rushing back to the studio to rejoin Chmerkovskiy on stage to avoid elimination.
Judge Carrie Ann Inaba called her courageous but added, “What were you thinking?” Braxton, a Grammy-nominated singer, is a co-host on The Real talk show and starred in the reality show Braxton Family Values.
On Instagram, she said doctors had advised against her leaving the hospital to dance. When she returned, what she thought was pneumonia turned out to be “something way more serious” — blood clots, she wrote. "I woke up to a mirror and saw myself this morning and that makes me the winner because that almost wasn’t the case,” Braxton said.
Blood clots in the lungs is also called pulmonary embolism, and is a dangerous condition that can restrict blood and oxygen flow. In most cases, the clots have traveled to the lungs from the legs, according to the Mayo Clinic. Risk factors include a family history of either pulmonary embolism or deep vein thrombosis (blood clots that form in the deep veins in the body), a history of heart disease or cancer, recent surgery, immobility, and unhealthy lifestyle choices.
Pulmonary embolism can be fatal, but can be treated when caught early, and prevented by taking measures to prevent blood clots in the legs.
Additional reporting by the Associated Press
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