Lala Anthony Shocks Fans With Heart Surgery Reveal

Lala Anthony has been keeping a significant health condition under wraps. Anthony, star of the Showtime drama series The Chi, has gone from MTV VJ to an influencer, author, and in-demand actress. Throughout the years, Anthony has been open with fans about her personal life, including some of her marital strife with NBA star, Carmelo Anthony. But when it came time to reveal that she underwent heart surgery, Anthony told her story on her own terms.

In a recent interview with Self Magazine, Anthony revealed that doctors discovered she had premature ventricular contractions in her heart. As a result, it caused an abnormally fast heartbeat. She required heart surgery this past June. Though Anthony says her heart always had a fast beat, she had no idea it was due to a more serious health issue. A series of health scares and requests from her family to get checked out led her to the doctor. 

"I felt my heart racing all the time, but because it's all I ever really knew, I didn't even know that it was necessarily something wrong," Anthony said. "I just thought, 'Oh, you just feel your heart racing sometimes because you're working too much, you haven't slept, you're stressed.'"

For the past few years, Anthony has delved into her acting career, with roles in Power, The Chi, The New Edition Story, and Act Like a Lady - Think Like a Man. She's also worked on fashion projects and balanced being a full-time mother, all the while dealing with marital issues. It's easy to see how she would think she simply needed rest.

Her 14-year-old son Kyan begged her to go to the doctor after the family noticed she looked pale, was sweating, and was lightheaded. She had to undergo a cardiac ablation, "which uses radiofrequency heat or extreme cold to destroy the part of the heart causing an abnormal heartbeat." Anthony admits the surgery was scary and said she even had to be awake for a portion of the procedure. She explained that during the procedure, a catheter is inserted through the groin into the heart.

Her condition was actually discovered in 2019. She tried taking medication but her schedule didn't allow for the side effects. She says the surgery has been a life-saver, especially to put her health first. Before the procedure, she learned her condition caused her heart to beat 30,000 times more than a normal person.

"Within a 24-hour period, they said, my heart was beating 30,000 extra beats more than the average person. It was going fast constantly," she said. "Your heart is a muscle. If a muscle is working so hard all the time, eventually the muscle will get weak and cause heart attack, stroke, death, whatever it is."

A month after the surgery, Anthony filed for divorce. She's now focused on her career, her son, and looking forward to dating again.