Country Artist Colt Ford Recovering From a Heart Attack in ICU Following Performance

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Colt Ford performs at Tootsie's Orchid Lounge Annual Birthday Bash on September 17, 2023 in Nashville, Tennessee. - Credit: Jason Kempin/Getty Images
Colt Ford performs at Tootsie's Orchid Lounge Annual Birthday Bash on September 17, 2023 in Nashville, Tennessee. - Credit: Jason Kempin/Getty Images

Country rap musician Colt Ford has been hospitalized in Mesa, Arizona, after suffering a heart attack on Thursday evening. Ford experienced the health emergency following his performance at Dierks Bently’s Whiskey Row in Gilbert, Arizona, according to multiple reports. The artist is reportedly recovering in the intensive care unit at the Banner Desert Medical Center.

Representatives for Ford did not immediately respond to Rolling Stone‘s request for comment.

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Last year, Ford told Taste of Country that he had “gotten in a lot better shape” amid a flurry of health concerns. “Last year, I got diagnosed with an autoimmune disease called Myasthenia Gravis,” he explained. “it’s been tough. The last year quite honestly got really hard for me. It’s a disease, and there’s no cure for this.” Ford also underwent treatment for eye cancer in 2021.

Myasthenia Gravis is an autoimmune disease that directly affects communication between nerves and voluntary muscles, particularly those that impact the eyes, mouth, throat, and limbs. “It hadn’t really affected my throat, but it really affected my eye. I had no control over my right eye,” Ford added. “It really messes with your vision. I could see perfectly out of either eye, but then I would look together, and I’d see three of you, and you would be melting together like a lava lamp.”

Hailing from Athens, Georgia, Ford is credited as a co-writer on popular country hits, including Jason Aldean’s “Dirt Road Anthem” and Brantley Gilbert’s “Country Must Be Country Wide.” The musician released his latest album, Must Be the Country, in 2023.

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