Overview
Often we expect celebrities to be in bettwe health than regular people- after all their wealth means that they have unlimited access to the best physicians, nutritionists, trainers and personal chefs. Though it is true but celebrities aren’t invincible- they too get same diseases that we do.
Over the years many celebrities have undergone heart bypass surgery. Let us now discuss about 5 celebrities who had heart bypass surgery:
Regis Philbin
Regis Philbin who has been called the hardest working man in show business holds the Guiness World Record for Most Hours on Camera. He has also hosted numerous game shows over the years such as “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?” and has made guest appearances on various TV shows. At the age of 62 in 19993, he underwent an angioplasty to clear a narrowed artery in his heart. Again on March 12, 2007 while filming the episode of “Live with Regis and Kelly” he tearfully announced that he had been having shortness of breath and chest pain for the past two weeks to which doctors recommended a triple bypass. He didn’t wanted to do it but after getting a second opinion he went ahead with the surgery the same week. He returned to “Live” around six weeks later.
Burt Reynolds
With a career spanning around 100 films and more than 300 TV shows, it is hard to imagine that Burt Reynolds didn’t initially think about acting as a career. His big break came when he starred in the 1972 movie “Deliverance”. In early 2010, the 75- year old began having chest pains at home. His doctor warned him that he could die without surgery and hence he had a quintuple bypass.
David Letterman
For nearly 30 years, David Letterman has been hosting his own late night TV show. In 1993 he became a regular guest host on “The Late Show with David Letterman” on CBS. At the age of 51,he had an angiograpm that showed having coronary artery dises for which he went on medication. Letter continued with eating a low fat diet and his exercise routine. However, in Jaunary 2000 another angiogram showed severe constriction and hence he had to immediately go for a quintuple heart bypass surgery. He returned to his hosting duties after five weeks of recovery.
His first guests included the team of doctors and nurses who had performed his surgery and taken care of him. Letterman helped to open the Ronald O Perelman Heart Institute in New York City in 2009. In the year 2010, he has donated to several heart related charities including the Larry King Cardiac Foundation, through his private foundation, the American Foundation for Courtesy and Grooming. He also celebrated the anniversary of his bypass surgery and brought his surgeon, Dr. O Wayne Isom on his show.
Rue McClanahan
Rue McClanaham is renowned for her roles as Maude’s best friend Vivian Harmon on the 1970s show “Maude”. She has also been a devoted animal rights activist. In 1997 she was diagnosed with breast cancer which was treated and she made a full recovery. She began speaking at various breast cancer related events sharing her experiences. 12 years later when she was preparing to attend a gala being held in her honor, it had to be cancelled when she was hospitalized and underwent heart bypass surgery.
Larry King
Larry King is best known for his long running cable interview sho “Larry King Live” but the septuagenarian has been in the show business since 1950s. Over the course of his 50 years in broadcasting, King has conducted over 40,000 interviews. His father died at the young age of 44 due to heart disease which puts him at higher risk for developing the disease. Also he was a heavy smoker and did not exercise or eat a healthy diet. At the age of 54 in 1987, Larry suffered a serious heart attack. Shortly he underwent quintuple bypass surgery. This experience led him to make serious changes in his own life and also to help others with heart disease. He started the Larry King Heart Foundation to help pay for people needing cardiac surgeries who could not otherwise afford them.
Despite the lifestyle changes, in early 2010 at the age of 76 King began experiencing pain which was the result of blocked arteries. This time he had surgery for placing tubes called stents in coronary arteries that push the plaque back against the arterial wall thereby allowing better blood flow.
Source:
Cardiac surgery in India vs. USA
Paediatric cardiac surgery in India for successful treatment
Cardiac Surgery Packages in India
