KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Country singer Randy Travis is in an unidentified Texas hospital Monday afternoon listed in critical condition, The Dallas Morning News reported.
“The Grammy winner is suffering from complications of recently acquired viral cardiomyopathy. Travis was admitted into the medical facility yesterday,” a statement to the paper said.
According to the Mayo Clinic, Cardiomyopathy is a disease that weakens and enlarges your heart muscle. There are three main types of cardiomyopathy — dilated, hypertrophic and restrictive. Cardiomyopathy makes it harder for your heart to pump blood and deliver it to the rest of your body. Cardiomyopathy can lead to heart failure.
Travis had recently been on the road, performing in Detroit on June 28 and Chicago on June 29. He was set to do a show in Deadwood, South Dakota, on Wednesday.
He appeared well during business meetings on Friday and Saturday, his publicist said. “Then on Sunday, it hit him.”
Travis had a tough year in 2012 with arrests for assault and public intoxication, which earned him a probation sentences.
“To say that Mr. Travis’ alcohol use exacerbated his problems would be pure speculation, but if someone told me alcohol played a role in his cardiac problems, I wouldn’t be surprised,” Oskoui said.
Travis was at the forefront of the “New Traditionalist” movement in the 1980s and 1990s, but he faded as the ’90s wore on. He made a comeback after turning to gospel music in 1999. His song “Three Wooden Crosses” won song of the year in 2003 from both the Country Music Association and the Academy of Country Music.
As one of country music’s top-selling artists, Travis has won seven Grammys, 10 Academy of Country Music awards and 10 American Music Award statuettes.
His best-known songs also include “Forever and Ever, Amen,” “Diggin’ Up Bones” and “Deeper Than the Holler.”
CNN contributed to this article.
