Diagnosed in 2008 with systemic lupus erythematosus, the most common form of lupus, Toni Braxton underwent a serious heart procedure in September 2022 to address the impact of the condition after somewhat ignoring her health, she told People.
Despite being hospitalized “more times than I care to admit,” the Grammy-winning artist confessed that she wasn’t staying on top of routine urine and blood tests to assess how the disease was affecting her organs.
“I kept putting it off thinking, ‘Oh, I’m fine. I’ll be okay.’ But my doctor was persistent and I went to get tested in the last week of September. I did a specialized test and they looked at my heart and saw some abnormalities,” Braxton told People. “I found out that I needed a coronary stent. My left main coronary artery was 80% blocked. The doctors told me I could’ve had a massive heart attack, I would not have survived.”
She’s acutely aware of the danger she put herself in and committed to not missing future tests. “Had I not gotten that test, my life would’ve been different. . . . If all I have to do for my lupus and my kidney health is pee in a cup, I can pee in a cup,” she said. “How many times do you need me to pee? If all I gotta do is get my arm pricked for some blood? Oh yes, I can do that. How many vials do you need?”