Toni Braxton Underwent Heart Procedure Due To Lupus Complications: “It Was A Traumatic Moment”
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
Toni Braxton has opened up about her “traumatic” heart surgery, which doctor’s deemed necessary due to complications from lupus, with which she was diagnosed in 2008.
The “Un-Break My Heart” songstress revealed in a new interview with People that she went under the knife in September 2022 after discovering 80% of the main artery in her heart was blocked due to systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), the most common form of lupus.
More from VIBE.com
Toni Braxton Inks "All-Encompassing" Production Deal With Lifetime
Jamie Foxx Is "Awake And Alert" As He Continues Recovery Following "Medical Complication"
Male Makeup Artist Spends $60K On Injections To Get A Booty Like Nicki Minaj's
While she’s usually on top of taking care of herself, the diva admitted to slipping up a bit last year.
“I kept putting it off thinking, ‘Oh, I’m fine. I’ll be okay.’ But my doctor was persistent and I went to get tested in the last week of September. I did a specialized test and they looked at my heart and saw some abnormalities,” Braxton told the publication. “I found out that I needed a coronary stent. My left main coronary artery was 80% blocked. The doctors told me I could’ve had a massive heart attack, I would not have survived.”
“It was a traumatic moment for me. I was in shock,” she recalled. “I remember that day because my chest was aching often, just hurting. And I thought I was just sad because unfortunately my sister [Traci Braxton] had just passed and I thought, ‘Wow, I’m really aching in my heart for my sister.’ And come to find out, of course I was sad about my sister, but I also had underlying health issues. It was my body talking to me, telling me something’s not quite right.”
Two days after being screened, Braxton underwent the emergency surgery, with doctors inserting the coronary stent to keep the artery open. She spent “a few days” in recovery.
Overall, the R&B star was thankful to have caught the medical issue before suffering a worse fate.
“It was really a scary moment,” she admitted. “Had I not gotten that test, my life would’ve been different. I look at it like it was a blessing in disguise for me because now, putting off tests? Oh no, I will not put off tests.”
She went on, “If all I have to do for my lupus and my kidney health is pee in a cup, I can pee in a cup. How many times do you need me to pee? If all I gotta do is get my arm pricked for some blood? Oh yes, I can do that. How many vials do you need?”
Braxton also encouraged women to get checked regularly, sharing that Black and Asian women are four times more likely to develop lupus nephritis.
“It’s important to get those screenings — simple things,” she asserted. “The goal here is long life and old age. I know we’re all scared sometimes to go to the doctor. Especially for me having lupus, I was scared, I didn’t want to know. But I find that knowing is empowering and it gets my doctors on top of my lupus and my kidney health. And that’s the most important thing.”
