Country star Colt Ford has been hospitalized after he suffered a heart attack following his performance in Gilbert, Arizona.
According to multiple reports, the 53-year-old had just finished performing at Dierks Bentley's Whiskey Row on Thursday night when the medical emergency occurred. Ford was then rushed to the ICU at Banner Desert Medical Center before he was transferred to the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale.
A spokesperson for the singer-songwriter told 12 News he is in "stable but critical condition." According to TMZ, Ford appeared just fine while performing onstage before the heart attack. The outlet reported he performed a 17-song set over the course of two and a half hours. After wrapping his set, it's said that Ford took a bow with his band before exiting.
But moments later, paramedics descended onto the scene to treat Ford, who is perhaps best known as the co-writer to Jason Aldean's 2010 hit, "Dirt Road Anthem," off of Aldean's My Kinda Party album. Ford has also famously collaborated with Willie Nelson, the late Toby Keith, Lady A and Chase Rice, among others.
Jason Aldean and Colt Ford perform on April 13, 2014 in Florence, Arizona.
Ford has had health issues over the last several years. The singer revealed in 2021 that he had been diagnosed with eye cancer. After beating it, Ford revealed in 2023 he had been diagnosed with Myasthenia Gravis.
"Last year I got diagnosed with an autoimmune disease called Myasthenia Gravis," Ford told Taste of Country in May 2023 while kicking off his new album, Must Be the Country. "It's been tough. The last year quite honestly got really hard for me. It's a disease and there's no cure for this."
According to the Mayo Clinic, Myasthenia Gravis "causes muscles under your voluntary control to feel weak and get tired quickly. This happens when the communication between nerves and muscles breaks down."
Ford, whose last Instagram post showed him vibing out on Easter Sunday, told Taste of Country that the disease affected his right eye, of which he had no control.
The country singer's tour schedule has him performing at Wake the Lake Country Festival in Lake Havasu City, Arizona, though it's unclear if the performance will be canceled or rescheduled.
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