Amy Grant gives health update after open-heart surgery for rare condition
February 15, 2021
GMA l
By Carson Blackwelder
One year after discovering she had a rare heart condition which required open-heart surgery to fix, singer Amy Grant said she feels "fantastic."
"I just have this feeling like this is going to be the best year yet. I love it," Grant told Robin Roberts on "Good Morning America" Wednesday.
February is American Heart Month and cardiovascular disease is the No. 1 killer among all Americans. Women are impacted the most -- one in three die from the disease, according to the American Heart Association.
"My birth defect was an encroaching killer -- and I had no idea," Grant said. "So my advice would be take care of yourself. The world needs you. Even if you feel like everything is fine, you don't really know what's going on inside."
She urged women not to put their health "on the back burner" and to take care of themselves.
Grant helped raise awareness about heart health with a performance of "Every Heartbeat," a hit from her 1991 album, "Heart in Motion." It was her first performance since undergoing surgery. The album, which turns 30 years old on March 5, was nominated for album of the year at the Grammys and also spawned the hit, "Baby Baby."
Thirty years later, the Christian pop singer said "Every Heartbeat" is a song which "absolutely" has another meaning to her, especially after her health scare.
"I feel like I've been given a second chance," Grant said. "It feels like this crazy kaleidoscope that started 30 years ago that's just brought into focus the gift of gratitude, joy for the gift of each other, joy for music."
For the singer’s first performance since her open-heart surgery, Grant performs the hit song from her album “Heart in Motion,” which celebrates its 30th anniversary this year.
Grant had open-heart surgery last year to fix a rare condition called partial anomalous pulmonary venous return (PAPVR). According to the Mayo Clinic, PAPVR is a congenital heart defect which causes a mixing of oxygen-rich blood and oxygen-poor blood as it flows into the heart's right atrium instead of the left due to incorrect placement of the pulmonary veins.
Last February, Grant revealed on Twitter that she had gotten a check at her doctor's suggestion due to her father's heart history and, after a "battery of tests," her condition was diagnosed.
"The first good news is that I am completely asymptomatic," Grant told fans at the time. "The second good news is that it's fixable, so instead of concerts and camping trips this summer, I am going to take care of my heart. Are you taking care of yours?! Please do."
In June, Grant successfully underwent open-heart surgery to fix her PAPVR. About a week after the procedure, the six-time Grammy winner said her recovery had felt "miraculous" and she credited "something supernatural" for helping her get through it.
Grant appeared on "GMA" in August to give an update on her health and to express how "grateful" she was to have caught this rare condition when she did, all thanks to listening to her doctor.
"If I have got something wrong, anybody could have something wrong," she told Robin Roberts. "My message would be, take a minute and take care of yourself. You don't know that something is wrong unless you make sure it's right."
Christopher "Kid" Reid, half of the hip-hop duo Kid 'n Play, is revealing he underwent a heart transplant, speaking about his health condition for the first time on " Good Morning America. " The rapper, who first gained fame in the 1980s and 1990s alongside collaborator Christopher "Play" Martin, spoke with "GMA" co-anchor Michael Strahan in a segment airing Thursday, sharing he was diagnosed with congestive heart failure after an emergency room visit last July. Reid said initially, he began experiencing fatigue and shortness of breath, which he said he attributed to getting older. "I think sometimes you kinda just chalk it up to, you know, 'I'm gettin' older,' you know, 'The road is harsh,'" he said. Eventually, when his symptoms intensified last summer, Reid said he visited an emergency room, where he received his diagnosis. Reid said he was first given medication to treat the condition, but at a three-week follow-up appointment, his cardiologist grew concerned. "He came in very swollen again, and that is a little unusual in somebody who's been started on treatment, for the swelling to come back that quickly," Erika Jones, Reid's cardiologist, told "GMA." That evening, instead of flying across the country for a performance as Reid had planned, Jones urged him to stay put and ran additional bloodwork. "The blood work confirmed my suspicion. It showed that his heart was failing, and it was starting to affect his other organs," Jones said. Reid said he received a call a few hours after his appointment, urging him to go to the emergency room, where he was rushed to the ICU. Reid was told by doctors that a heart transplant would be his only option, and he was placed on a transplant waitlist. Cardiothoracic surgeon Dr. Laura Dichiacchio, one of Reid's doctors, told "GMA" that Reid was placed on the transplant waiting list because it was "a kind of life or death situation." Dichiacchio described Reid as "warm" and "incredibly calm." Reid said eight days after being placed on the transplant waitlist, he received a call with the welcome news that he would get a new heart the following evening. Reid said he arrived for the surgery, and seven hours later, he had a new heart. Reid said he plans to cherish his second chance at life, saying, "This thing is ... a beautiful life. It's great. And, you know, I wanna be around for it." He added that he hoped to inspire others, particularly people of color, to put their health first and seek medical attention when things don't feel right. "A lot of times, we don't go because we don't want the bad news, or we too busy just hustlin', trying to make it from day to day," he said. "And we ... feel like we don't got time, or we'll get over it. Well, you might not." According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in the U.S., about 6.7 million adults aged 20 or older have heart failure, a condition that happens "when the heart cannot pump enough blood and oxygen to support other organs in your body." The CDC cites hypertension, diabetes, and coronary artery disease as common risk factors for the disease. According to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, heart failure is a serious condition that requires medical care. Treatment can include heart-healthy lifestyle changes such as lower sodium intake, regular physical activity, and limited alcohol consumption, as well as medication, devices such as a pacemaker, and heart surgery or transplant.
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