Feb. 24, 1987, started out as an ordinary day for talk-show host Larry King. He did several interviews, including one with Surgeon General C. Everett Koop, whose final words to him were, ”Boy, you oughtta stop smoking.” Later that night he heard these fateful words: ”Mr. King, You`re Having a Heart Attack,” which became the title of his book (Delacorte).
Q-How did you know you were having a heart attack?
A-I didn`t know until I got to the hospital. I was having pain in my right shoulder that went down my right side. But when I got to the hospital, they did some tests, and they told me.
Q-What was your first reaction?
A-I started to shake. The first question I asked was, ”Am I going to die?”
Q-You had angina for seven years before your heart attack. Why wasn`t that enough of an incentive to quit smoking, start exercising and change your eating habits?
A-I don`t have an answer to that. My best guess is denial. I would tell myself that the medication I was taking-the beta-blocker and the pill to lower my cholesterol-would take care of everything. I didn`t want to stop smoking. I enjoyed it too much. When I would drive by people who were jogging, I`d laugh at them. I`ve got the kind of personality that needs a jolt to change.
Q-What were some of the emotional problems that accompanied your heart attack?
A-Post-heart attack is a very traumatic time. I felt I was given a second chance, and that made me feel slightly guilty because my father never got one. He died of heart disease when he was 44. I also felt very scared. I was afraid to be alone. I slept with the lights and the TV on. But then slowly the fear lessened and I started to feel better, so I slipped back to my old eating habits. Then, after a few months, the pain got worse, and I had to have bypass surgery. That`s what really caused the major changes in my life.
Q-Why was the surgery more effective than a heart attack in getting you to change?
A-I had so much time to worry. After I was told I needed it, I picked a date seven weeks in the future. I was negotiating a new contract with CNN, and I wanted to get that out of the way. That was dumb. If I had died, what difference would it have made? I postponed it as long as possible, maybe hoping they`d invent a ”cure.” The night before the surgery was the worst night of my life, but once I woke up, I was a model patient, and I continue to be one. I`ve lost 25 pounds, I exercise, watch what I eat. I use mental exercises to keep my stress in control. I feel so much better-I often feel 25 years old. That`s an incentive to stay on track. I`m really a completely different person.
