Power star LaLa Anthony who recently filed for divorce from NBA baller Carmelo Anthony is now speaking out about a little-known secret regarding her health journey, sharing with SELF that she recently had to undergo an emergency heart procedure related to a heart condition called premature ventricular contractions (PVCs).
Anthony reportedly had a doctor ask her, “Has anyone talked to you about your heart, your PVCs?” as she was undergoing a 2019 exam while filming BH90210. On her heart condition, the actress told SELF, “I felt my heart racing all the time, but because it’s all I ever really knew, I didn’t even know that it was necessarily something wrong.”
“I just thought, Oh, you just feel your heart racing sometimes because you’re working too much, you haven’t slept, you’re stressed. You know, we, especially Black people, like to self-diagnose. We got all the answers,” the BMF actress continued.
Meet our November cover star: @lala! In an exclusive conversation with @freeblackgirl for @SELFmagazine, the star opens up for the first time about the abnormal heartbeat that plagued her for years and the emergency procedure she had to treat it. https://t.co/R7IE1u9e4h pic.twitter.com/Yjf8uTchiK
— SELF (@SELFmagazine) November 12, 2021
According to the Mayo Clinic, PVCs are best described as “abnormal contractions” that can “disrupt your regular heart rhythm, sometimes causing you to feel a fluttering or a skipped beat in your chest.” Being diagnosed with heart disease, anxiety, or high blood pressure can increase one’s chances of developing PVCs.
After feeling lightheaded and experiencing a rapid heartbeat and sweating, Anthony was reportedly convinced by her family to call for help and go to a hospital in June 2021. She was then transported by EMTs, with doctors later informing her that she’d need to have an emergency heart procedure, which Anthony would undergo while partially awake.
Revealing that “there were a lot of scary moments” during the ablation procedure, Anthony told SELF, “They would wake me up during the procedure and say, ‘We’re going to speed your heart up now…. Just take deep breaths.” The New York native described it as “a terrifying experience.”
Related Post: Lala Anthony Shows Carmelo Anthony Father’s Day Love Despite Divorce
On the importance of sharing her health journey with the public, Anthony detailed how her 14-year-old son Kiyan helped her realize her potential impact on others, continuing, “Most people Instagram themselves in a hospital bed or show the IV or whatever. And I never did any of that. But the more I thought about it and actually talked to my son, he was just like, ‘Mom, like, it can actually help people out there to become aware of listening to their bodies.'”
“I can turn it into something that can actually help people out there and also make people understand. I’m human. I go through s**t… it’s life.”
Anthony reportedly showed a “steady and regular” heartbeat following the ablation procedure and had regular check-ups to ensure that everything remained normal.
Many got to know La La Anthony as one of the first to host MTV’s TRL, but the 39-year-old mother has since made her mark on the entertainment industry, taking up major acting roles on various television shows and films.
