‘I could’ve had a massive heart attack’: Toni Braxton had near-fatal surgery for lupus complication
Toni Braxton has revealed she faced having a “massive heart attack” because of a serious health issue.
The singer had to undergo surgery to have a stent placed in her heart last Autumn, amid a complication she suffered during her lifelong battle with lupus.
The 55-year-old said last September doctors found that her “left main coronary artery was 80 percent blocked.”
The Grammy-winning artist said: “I found out that I needed a coronary stent... the doctors told me I could’ve had a massive heart attack, I would not have survived.”
Braxton added that it was “a traumatic moment” for her.
“I was in shock,” the star, who was diagnosed with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) in 2008, told People magazine.
“I remember that day because my chest was aching often, just hurting, and I thought I was just sad because unfortunately my sister had just passed and I thought, ‘Wow, I’m really aching in my heart for my sister.’”
The star’s sister Traci Braxton died from esophageal cancer in March of 2022.
“Of course I was sad about my sister, but I also had underlying health issues,” she continued. “It was my body talking to me, telling me something’s not quite right.”
According to the Mayo Clinic, Lupus is an autoimmune disease that “occurs when your body’s immune system attacks your own tissues and organs.
“Inflammation caused by lupus can affect many different body systems – including your joints, skin, kidneys, blood cells, brain, heart and lungs.”
The You Mean the World to Me singer told the publication that she’s been hospitalised several times and routinely submits blood and urine tests to doctors.
Braxton said her health has really improved since the operation and now she makes sure she doesn’t put off any tests, as she has done in the past.
“When my body tells me to take it down and relax, I have to listen to it,” she said.
The chart-topper is involved with the Get Uncomfortable campaign to mark Lupus Awareness Month in May, and shared her work with the campaign on Instagram on Tuesday.
