FILE - In this June 7, 2013 file photo, Randy Travis performs on day 2 of the 2013 CMA Music festival at the LP Field in Nashville, Tenn. Travis has been hospitalized in Texas with viral cardiomyopathy. A news release from the singer's publicist says Travis was admitted to the hospital Sunday, July 7, 2013, in Dallas. (Photo by Wade Payne/Invision/AP, File)
July 10, 2013 - 10:13 AM
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Doctors say country music star Randy Travis was in good health until three weeks before he was hospitalized and is now in congestive heart failure because of a viral respiratory illness he contracted.
The information came in a video statement from Drs. William Gray and Michael Mack of the Baylor Health Care System on Wednesday.
Although Travis remains in critical condition, Mack says "his condition has stabilized and he has shown signs of improvement."
The singer underwent a procedure to increase blood flow after being admitted to a Texas hospital Sunday with viral cardiomyopathy (kahr-dee-oh-my-OP-uh-thee), a heart condition caused by a virus.
The 54-year-old Grammy Award-winning singer, best known for his hits "Forever and Ever, Amen" and "Three Wooden Crosses," became ill after a virus infected his heart muscle, causing it to become weakened and enlarged so that it could not pump properly. Cardiomyopathy can lead to heart failure.
News from © The Associated Press, 2013