A.J. Foyt will be seen around his native Houston a bit more these days. Foyt is part of an initiative at St Luke’s Episcopal Hospital in Houston in which patients share their stories.
Foyt’s story is spreading a bit farther as he is featured in a 30-second commercial that is airing locally. He’s also featured on seven billboards in the area with the tagline: A.J. Foyt still has the heart of a champion.
Foyt’s story actually began with his wife Lucy undergoing open-heart surgery last winter (from which she has made a full recovery). When doctors asked Foyt the last time he’d had his stents checked (installed during a procedure in 2000), they didn’t like his answer. When they checked him, they found a blockage.
Foyt underwent a procedure to install another stent to open the blockage — complicated by the fact that the doctor had to go through an existing stent to reach it (an open-heart surgery team was standing by in case the procedure didn’t work). Fortunately, the procedure was successful.
When asked if he would share his story, Foyt didn’t hesitate to express his gratitude to the staff of the Texas Heart Institute’s cardiology team.
