On the mend. Amy Grant underwent successful open-heart surgery to correct a birth defect doctors discovered years later, Us Weekly confirms.
“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,” a Wednesday, June 3, post on the 59-year-old singer’s Facebook page read.
Later in the day, Grant’s team updated fans on her post-operation progress. “Thank you for so many prayers today,” they wrote. “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.”
The Christian musician’s rep reiterated the success of the surgery in a statement to Us. “She had open heart surgery to correct a condition from birth the doctors discovered during a heart checkup called PAPVR,” her rep said. “Thankfully the doctor said it could not have gone better. We’re praying for a full and easy recovery over the next few days, weeks and months to come.”
Grant revealed in February that she was diagnosed with the condition. “[My doctor] suggested I have a check up [sic] because of my dad’s heart history,” she shared on Twitter at the time. “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. 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.”
PAPVR causes oxygen-rich blood from the lungs to mix with oxygen-poor blood, according to the Mayo Clinic. The defect results in some of the pulmonary veins that carry blood from the lungs to the heart flowing into other blood vessels or the heart’s upper right chamber. The blood is supposed to enter the upper left chamber of the heart.
Grant married Vince Gill in March 2000. The couple are parents of daughter Corrina, 19. The 63-year-old crooner also shares daughter Jenny, 38, with ex-wife Janis Oliver while Grant has three children with ex-husband Gary Chapman.
