BREAKING NEWS Country legend hospitalized after heart attack in Nashville
The 86-year-old artist and comedian, famed for hits such as Everything is Beautiful and Misty, was taken to the emergency room on July 4 after he complained of chest pains.
After a heart catheterization procedure, it was determined he'd suffered a mild heart attack.
According to his official Facebook page, Ray underwent minimally invasive heart surgery in the Tennessee state capital on July 8.
While the operation was successful, he has been forced to cancel his upcoming performances at his CabaRay Showroom through July 2025.
In a Facebook update, posted on Wednesday night, it was revealed that Ray is doing well.
'Ray is out of ICU and beginning to walk the halls as therapy with a nurse's assistance as he is working towards recovering from this surgery,' the statement read.
'Ray is very grateful for all of the cards and get-well messages. Everything is still beautiful!'
According to Mayo Clinic, a heart attack occurs when the flow of blood to the heart is severely reduced or blocked.
The blockage is usually due to a buildup of fat, cholesterol and other substances in the heart (coronary) arteries.
The fatty, cholesterol-containing deposits are called plaques. The process of plaque buildup is called atherosclerosis.
Sometimes, a plaque can rupture and form a clot that blocks blood flow. A lack of blood flow can damage or destroy part of the heart muscle.
Ray's health ordeal comes four years after he lost his wife of 60 years, Penny Jackson Ragsdale to cancer.
Penny died at their Nashville home on December 31, 2021 shortly before midnight. She was 78.
Over the course of their life together, they welcomed two daughters, Suzi and Timi.
Ray's career in music kicked off in 1957 when he signed to Capitol Records at the age of 18.
In the 1970s. he turned his hand to becoming a studio musician and producer in Nashville.
Ray has had a fruitful career, having been nominated for a total of 11 Grammys, of which he won Best Contemporary Male Vocalist for Everything is Beautiful in 1971.
He also won Best Arrangement Accompanying Vocalists with Misty in 1976.
Additionally, Ray is an inductee of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, the Georgia Music Hall of Fame, the Christian Music Hall of Fame, and the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.
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