Burt Reynolds is Recovering from Heart Surgery

Hollywood film legend, and bad boy film star of the 70's and 80's, Burt Reynolds is recovering nicely from recent coronary bypass surgery. The scheduled surgery was performed at a Florida hospital. According to his long time manager, 74 year old, Mr. Reynolds has a "great motor and a new set of pipes."

Coronary artery bypass heart surgery is an operation to improve blood flow to the heart when blood vessels become blocked. Blood vessels can get clogged or blocked when over time, fats, cholesterol and other substances build up in the arteries and form plaque.

When the plaque breaks off, and a blood clot forms, blood flow from the heart can be blocked. The patient will experience chest pain discomfort called angina, or worse, a heart attack.

A bypass operation can save a patient's life. Heart surgeons can put in new blood vessels bypassing the blockages so blood can flow freely again. About 450,000 coronary bypass operations are performed each year.

Mr. Reynolds had 5 blockages and scheduled surgery was performed at the JFK Medical Center hospital in Atlantis, Florida. .The hospital is said to have an excellent survival rate for this type of operation...nearly 99%.

Burt Reynolds has been a long time Hollywood favorite. He earned a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Some of his most popular films were...Deliverance, Smokey and the Bandit, Striptease, Boogie Nights, and the Cannonball Run.

He is one of America's most recognizable personalities with more than 90 feature films and 300 television episode credits. He is probably just as well known for appearing as the naked, happy centerfold in the April 1972 Cosmopolitan Magazine. That issue became a cultural artifact of the Sexual Revolution and made millions of women and girls smile.

Ladies' Man Burt was romantically linked with Tammy Wynette, Lucie Arnaz, Adrienne Barbeau, Sally Field, Lorna Luft, Chris Evert and Dinah Shore. His relationship with Ms. Shore attracted attention since she was 20 years his senior.

He was married to actress /comedienne Judy Carne from 1963-1965, and later to actress Loni Anderson from 1988-1993 with whom he adopted a son, Quinton.

The last few years have been difficult for Mr. Reynolds. He lost his close friend Dom DeLouise. He suffered a bad fall and injured his back, which left him addicted to painkillers. He had recently left rehab when he started experiencing heart problems.

According to all reports, his bypass surgery went very well. He is now at home with 24 hour nursing care. He is expected to do fine. He recently issued a statement thanking his many fans for their outpouring of love and support.

Sources:

www.people.com

Globe Magazine

Wikipedia.com