Larry King's Representative Confirms Hospitalization, but Disputes Heart Attack Reports

Larry King's spokesperson disputed a report that the legendary television host suffered a heart [...]

By Daniel S. Levine

Larry King's spokesperson disputed a report that the legendary television host suffered a heart attack last week, but did confirm he was hospitalized.

"On the morning of Thursday, April 23, Larry King was scheduled for an angioplasty. Before his scheduled procedure, he experienced angina and went to the hospital early to be examined," a representative said late Monday. "His doctor successfully performed the angioplasty and inserted stents to reopen the previous bypass from 1987. He has been recuperating in the hospital and is scheduled to be released soon. His doctors expect him to make a full recovery."

The statement continued, "To be clear, and contrary to published reports, his doctors say he did not have a heart attack and he did not go into cardiac arrest. Larry is in good spirits and thanks everyone for their concern. He's expected to be back to work on his shows, Larry King Now and PoliticKING with Larry King soon."

Earlier Monday, TMZ reported that King had a heart attack after "going into cardiac arrest" on Thursday when he was preparing to go to the hospital for an angiogram. Sources told the site he was rushed to the hospital in an ambulance, and doctors performed an angioplasty. King was originally scheduled for an angiogram Thursday.

TMZ edited its report with the remarks from King's spokesman. However, TMZ maintained that its sources said doctors told King's wife Shawn that he suffered a "mild heart attack and there were proteins in his blood."

King suffered a major heart attack in 1987, and needed a quintuple-bypass surgery. Since then, he has been open about his struggles with heart disease and established the Larry King Cardiac Foundation. He also wrote about his experiences in books, including 2004's Taking on Heart Disease, in which he blamed his heart attack on bad habits and suggested people take warning signs of heart disease seriously.

King, who was also diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, revealed in 2017 that doctors found he had lung cancer. He had two procedures to have an upper lobe and lymph node removed.

The 85-year-old King's broadcasting career goes back to the late 1950s. He is best known for hosting CNN's Larry King Live from 1985 to 2010. He now hosts Larry King Now and PoliticKING with Larry King for Hulu and RT America.

Last year, King criticized CNN for its focus on President Donald Trump and ignoring other important stories.

"I've known Donald for 40 years," King said at the time while on RT America, the American version of the Kremlin-backed RT news agency. "I know the good side of Donald, I know the bad side of Donald, I think he would like to be a dictator. I think he'd love to be able to just run things. So he causes a lot of this."

Photo credit: Getty Images

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