Country Singer Opens up About Her Serious Health Issues

Ashley Cooke is living with a life-threatening heart condition. The country singer has been speaking publicly recently about how things have changed for her.

Despite her challenges, her music peers have been a source of strength. She says she’s learned to lean on those around her in order to get through tough times.

In an interview with E! News last fall, she says a series of personal challenges nearly left her debilitated. Despite achieving her first No. 1 song on country radio in June 2024 with “your place,” she says 2025 was a rollercoaster year.

“My dad had cancer for the fifth time,” she explained. “My mom had a heart attack. Both of my grandmothers passed away. My sister had stuff with her thyroid that she’s been posting about, too.” 

Simultaneously, she was battling her own broken heart, literally and figuratively. “I was diagnosed with Brugada syndrome, which a lot of my dad’s side of the family has,” she continued. “The toughest part is that I’m still learning about it every day. I really don’t know as much as I’d like to know, because there really isn’t a ton that we can know.”

According to Mayo Clinic, Brugada syndrome is a genetic heart condition that causes electrical system abnormalities, leading to dangerous, fast heart rhythms that can cause fainting, seizures, and sudden cardiac death, often during sleep, despite a structurally normal heart. 

“It’s the kind of syndrome that nothing really affects you until it does and it’s fatal, and that’s just the way that it goes,” Ashley added. “A lot of people on my dad’s side, they’ve unfortunately—out of nowhere without even knowing they had it—had a cardiac episode and they were gone.”

She said the scariest part is not being in control. “There’s really nothing to do or not do about it. It’s just something I’m living with,” she admitted, adding, “It’s just one of those things that I have, and I just know that could be something that takes me someday.”In an interview with PEOPLE in November 2025, she opened up about her her challenging time inspired her latest project, ace.

“All I could write about for the first couple months of writing for this next project was about what happened,” she says. “The reality of my dad’s cancer diagnosis and my mom’s heart issues and my own heart issues … and my boyfriend of two years, who was my rock through all of that, we broke up during the process. I also lost my grandmas in the same year.”