Christian music star Amy Grant is reportedly recovering well after having open-heart surgery last week.
Grant, who has been referred to as “The Queen of Christian Pop”, had surgery last Wednesday to fix an issue that she has had since birth. Her condition, known as PVPA, is an abnormal heart condition that, according to the American Heart Association, about 9 of every 1,000 babies born in the U.S. contract.
She took to Facebook last week to ask for prayer as she underwent surgery, stating, “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.”
“Thank you for all the prayers today! Amy’s heart surgery went well and she is recovering in the care of a great team of doctors,” her team said on Instagram. “More updates to come. #HeartHealth #PAPVR.”
PAPV is a problem that occurs as the baby’s heart is developing during pregnancy, before the baby is born. Congenital heart defects are the most common birth defects.
A baby’s heart starts to develop at conception, but is completely formed by 8 weeks into the pregnancy. Congenital heart defects happen during this important first eight weeks of the baby’s development. Specific steps must take place for the heart to form correctly. Often, congenital heart defects are a result of one of these steps not happening at the right time. For example, a hole is left where a dividing wall should have formed, or a single blood vessel is left, where two should have been.
Back in February, Grant tweeted that her doctor suggested she get fresh testing for her condition. Her father also passed away of heart disease at the age of 86.
Since February is heart health awareness month, I want to send a shout out to my doctor, John Bright Cage.
— Amy Grant (@amygrant) February 13, 2020
He suggested I have a check up because of my Dad’s heart history… (look to image for full message from Amy)#HeartHealth #PAPVR #EveryHeartbeat pic.twitter.com/5bXt17qXQX
Grant is expected to make a full recovery and be back in the recording studio soon.
Image courtesy Wikipedia Common
