Larry King hospitalized after suffering another heart attack and cardiac arrest
Last Thursday, Larry King suffered a heart attack after going into cardiac arrest but is now recovering. According to TMZ, sources with direct knowledge said King had been having difficulty breathing for months and was scheduled to check himself into the hospital on Thursday for an angiogram.
However, when the 85-year-old was at home getting ready to go to the hospital, he went into cardiac arrest. Following this, an ambulance took him to the hospital, where doctors performed an angioplasty - they opened an artery that had collapsed and inserted several stents.
Following the procedure, the talk show legend was put in the cardiac intensive unit. TMZ is reportedly told he's expected to be released on Monday. Over the last six months, King had been seeing doctors over a breathing problem. However, according to TMZ, medical professionals weren't able to diagnose the severity of the underlying problem.
King has a history of heart problems for 30 years. He suffered a major heart attack in 1987 and had a quintuple-bypass surgery. He acknowledged a few of his unhealthy habits prior to his heart attack in the 2004 book, 'Taking on Heart Disease'.
"In early 1987 I was smoking three packs of Nat Sherman cigarettes a day, eating fried this-and-that, enjoying lamb chops with lots of fat because that always improves the taste, ordering banana cream or lemon meringue pie for dessert - and feeling absolutely fine," he noted. "But when I look back at the events leading up to that day when you-know-what happened, I remember people giving me 'the look.' It was always followed by something like 'Larry, you oughta (fill in the blank: stop smoking/eat more fish/get some exercise),' and I always responded with a completely phony appreciative nod and continued doing what I was doing. I guess that line about 'everything you need to see is always right in front of you but you gotta open your eyes to see it' really does hold true."
During his 2017 examination for annual chest X-rays to monitor his heart condition, doctors discovered a cancerous tumor in his lung. It was successfully removed with surgery.
