Larry King hospitalized for heart procedure, did not have heart attack, rep says

Talk show host Larry King spent the weekend in the hospital after getting stents placed in his heart, according to a statement from Ora TV, King’s production studio and on-demand digital TV network.

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"On the morning of Thursday, April 23, Larry King was scheduled for an angioplasty. Before his scheduled procedure, he experience angina and went to the hospital early to be examined," the Monday statement said. "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."

TMZ initially reported the news. The tabloid site and "Entertainment Tonight" reported King went into cardiac arrest, but King's reps denied that claim.

“To be clear, and contrary to published reports, his doctors say he did not have a heart attack and go into cardiac arrest.

“Larry is in good spirits and thanks everyone for their concern,” the statement said. “He’s expected to be back to work on his shows, ‘Larry King Now’ and ‘PoliticKING with Larry King’ soon.”

Credit: Dia Dipasupil

Credit: Dia Dipasupil

As the statement mentioned, King underwent a quintuple-bypass surgery five months after he had a major heart attack in 1987. In January 2010, at age 76, he had a stent procedure to restore blood flow through a coronary artery. That February, he said he underwent a procedure to have stents put in his heart.

"I did it on a Monday morning, was out on Tuesday and back here on 'Larry King Live' on Tuesday night," King said on his CNN show at the time.

King typically keeps his heath status private, choosing to reveal any ailments after he’s been treated. He underwent surgery for lung cancer in July 2017 and only revealing he was diagnosed months later,.

"The doctor said to me, 'It was malignant but you were in the first stage. If it had stayed and we didn't find it, you would have had trouble in two or three years, but we got it and you were lucky,'" King told Us Weekly in September 2017.

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