Amy Grant Undergoes Open Heart Surgery to Fix Rare Condition
Amy Grant underwent open heart surgery on Wednesday to fix a rare condition, and the procedure [...]
Amy Grant underwent open heart surgery on Wednesday to fix a rare condition, and the procedure "could not have gone better," according to her rep. Earlier this year Grant's doctors discovered during a routine checkup that she had a condition called PAPVR, or partial anomalous pulmonary venous return. The 59-year-old has had the condition since birth.
"She had open heart surgery to correct a condition from birth the doctors discovered during a heart checkup called PAPVR," Grant's rep told PEOPLE. "Thankfully the doctor said it could not have gone better. We're praying for a full and easy recovery over the next days, weeks and months to come." According to Mayo Clinic, the PAPVR occurs when some of the pulmonary veins carrying blood from the lungs to the heart flow into other blood vessels or into the heart's upper right chamber instead of correctly entering the heart's upper left chamber. The defect causes some oxygen-rich blood from the lungs to mix with oxygen-poor blood before entering the right atrium. The surgery needed to correct the condition redirects blood flow and takes place under general anesthesia.
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Grant's team initially made the announcement on Wednesday in a post on the singer's Facebook page. "From Team Amy - with all that is going on in our world that needs our collective prayer, please also join us in praying for Amy this week as she has heart surgery to correct her PAPVR condition," the message read. "#HeartHealth #Papvr." A follow-up post shared, "Thank you for so many prayers today. Amy is out of surgery and the doctor said it could not have gone better. We would ask for continued prayers over the days, weeks and months to come as she makes a full recovery... xo."
In February, Grant revealed that she discovered that she had PAPVR after her doctor suggested she get a checkup due to her father's heart history. "As always, I am feeling great, but the battery of tests he put me through, show that I have had a heart condition since birth," she tweeted at the time. "The first good news is that I am completely asymptomatic. 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."
Grant is a contemporary Christian singer who has won six Grammys and also found success as a crossover artist in the '80s and '90s with pop hits like "Baby, Baby," "That's What Love Is For" and "Every Heartbeat." She has been married to Vince Gill for 20 years and the two share one daughter. Grant is also mom to two daughters and one son from a previous marriage.