Ray Romano Reveals Heart Surgery for 90 Percent Blockage in Main Artery

A close call. Ray Romano revealed that he had heart surgery to deal with a major blockage in his main artery.

“I just had to have a stent put in,” the comedian, 65, said on the Monday, April 17, episode of “WTF With Marc Maron” podcast. “I had 90 percent blockage.”

While speaking about his diet with host Marc Maron, the Everybody Loves Raymond alum said he struggled with maintaining a healthy meal plan.

“I had high cholesterol 20 years ago,” he said, revealing that his doctor wanted him to go on medication. “Every time, I said, ‘Let me do it myself.’ And I would go home, and I would eat right. Not vegan, but I would eat a little healthier and get it down a couple ticks.”

Romano admitted that getting his cholesterol down a bit would lead to him rewarding himself with cheat meals, and it became a cycle until recently.

“I had to have a stent. I got kinda lucky that we found it,” the New York native told Maron, 59. “In the main artery — what they call ‘the widow maker,’ I had a stent put in. Now, I’m on the meds and my cholesterol dropped — right away it dropped.”

Romano explained that he has no side effects from the cholesterol medication, so he feels silly for avoiding taking the prescription. “If I couldn’t go back 20 years ago, I would have gone on the meds. It was hard for me to sustain that diet stuff,” he said.

The Parenthood alum, who has been married to Anna Romano since 1987, revealed that he has other health concerns now.

“Here’s the kicker: So I’m on the meds, and it’s got me all down now. So I figure, ‘Oh, now I can enjoy and eat the food.’ My sugar levels are up now! … I’m in the pre-diabetic zone.”

Recently, Romano revealed that he had chest pains while preparing to make his directorial debut with the movie Somewhere in Queens. The father of four said he’s typically very nervous when starting a new job.

“I’ve never been the guy that answers every question. Every day, there are a hundred questions and there are a hundred people working and waiting for you to make a decision. That’s intimidating. So yes, I did get chest pains on day one of prep,” he explained to The Hollywood Reporter in a Q&A published on Tuesday, April 18. “And we had nine weeks of prep, so I called up my agent that night and said, ‘I can’t do it.’ I couldn’t see nine weeks of this angst and not being able to sleep. I did have to go to my cardiologist and get on the treadmill. And then I got the clean bill and I was like, ‘OK, I can put that aside now.’ But that didn’t make me less anxious.”

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Somewhere in Queens hits theaters Friday, April 21.