A. J.

Just heard that A. J. Foyt has had heart surgery. OMG, he was my racing hero when I was a little girl! Best wishes to A. J. May you be well!

NascarNana, I just heard that too. Here's the story from AJ's website.


Larry Foyt To Call the Shots This Weekend As A.J. Foyt Recovers from Stent Procedure

ST. PETERSBURG, FL Mar 26, 2011—Team Director Larry Foyt will be calling the shots this weekend for the ABC Supply team at the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg while his father A.J. Foyt recovers from a procedure to insert a stent in his main artery Friday. Doctors had discovered a more than 95% blockage in the artery after an angiogram was performed on Monday.

“It was touch and go according to Dr. Civitello,” Foyt said last evening after the procedure. “They had a full surgical team on board with the surgeon [Dr. O.H. Frazier, an internationally renowned heart surgeon who trained under Dr. Denton Cooley] who did my wife Lucy’s triple bypass, prepared to do a bypass if the stent didn’t work. Their challenge was that they had to go through several stents first to get to the blockage and then get the artery opened enough to take the stent. I watched on the machine while they did it. After what seemed an awful long time, my doctor stepped back and said ‘We got it A.J.’ I can’t tell you how happy and relieved I was. I think he was too.”

as it is a serious operation, Aj will be fine, i have a stent in me and these are the wonders of modern medicine, all they do is lay you on a xray table, insert a long balloon and go through the arteries until they get to where the damage is, they will insert that stent and use the balloon to stretch it out, and the operation is over, they take xrays to make sure the blood is flowing and the stent did not move, depending on the situation, some patients go home that day or even the next,
Aj is a fixture in american sports, he is a tough guy and he will be fine........

I've had about, hate to admit it, about 8 angiograms and plasty - to check my heart and leg arteries. I have two stents too... one in the heart and one in my leg. What MJ said is all true... except he forgot to mention one icky part... you are awake for the procedure, hence the quote "AJ was happy too" because he was awake. They will give you a sedative...but you are awake and watching on a screen. Freaky.

I too, feel A.J. will be fine. As scary as these things are ( ask me... LOL ) they are done everyday and people live healthy regular lives afterwards. It's good they caught it now and fixed it. Prayers and thoughts to the whole Foyt family.

Doesn't sound like any fun, smokieonefour. Glad everything turned out OK for you. But, you are right, it's amazing what medical science has been able to do to help us all live longer, healthier lives.

Sounds like AJ will be just fine.

I've had about, hate to admit it, about 8 angiograms and plasty - to check my heart and leg arteries. I have two stents too... one in the heart and one in my leg. What MJ said is all true... except he forgot to mention one icky part... you are awake for the procedure, hence the quote "AJ was happy too" because he was awake. They will give you a sedative...but you are awake and watching on a screen. Freaky.

I too, feel A.J. will be fine. As scary as these things are ( ask me... LOL ) they are done everyday and people live healthy regular lives afterwards. It's good they caught it now and fixed it. Prayers and thoughts to the whole Foyt family.

i never got any meds for mine, cuz i was on the verge of kidney and liver failure, so i felt it al baby, one operation took them 10 hours, it was that bad.

Awww... Thanks Hidden Hollow

MJ - so sorry you didn't get a mental margarita when it was happening... but so glad you're still here with us.

Awww... Thanks Hidden Hollow

MJ - so sorry you didn't get a mental margarita when it was happening... but so glad you're still here with us.

thanks smokie i have one in my future not sure when, ughhhhhh