Larry King

== Health problems and death==
On February 24, 1987, King had a major heart attack before a successful quintuple-[[Coronary artery bypass surgery|bypass surgery]].<ref name=ss1/><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=53875 |title=Heart Health: Conquering the #1 Killer with Larry King |publisher=[[MedicineNet]] |date=February 24, 1987 |access-date=January 18, 2014 |archive-date=January 3, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210103105318/https://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=53875 |url-status=live }}</ref> Following this, he wrote two books about living with heart disease. ''Mr. King, You're Having a Heart Attack: How a Heart Attack and Bypass Surgery Changed My Life'' (1989, {{ISBN|978-0-440-50039-1}}), which was written with New York's ''[[Newsday]]'' science editor B. D. Colen, and ''Taking On Heart Disease: Famous Personalities Recall How They Triumphed over the Nation's #1 Killer and How You Can, Too'' (2004, {{ISBN|978-1-57954-820-9}}), which features the experience of various celebrities with cardiovascular disease, including [[Peggy Fleming]] and [[Regis Philbin]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.larrykingcardiacfoundation.org|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120113124144/http://www.larrykingcardiacfoundation.org/|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 13, 2012|title=Home Page|date=January 13, 2012|access-date=July 25, 2017}}</ref><!--
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20120113124144/http://www.larrykingcardiacfoundation.org/ Larry King Cardiac Foundation] – funds treatment for cardiac patients with little insurance --> King quit smoking after the heart attack, having smoked three packs of cigarettes a day until then.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.menshealth.com/health/a19534618/larry-king-diagnosed-with-lung-cancer/ | title=Larry King Reveals He Was Diagnosed with Lung Cancer | date=September 13, 2017 }}</ref>

King related his heart attack experience in an interview in the 2014 British documentary film ''The Widowmaker'', which advocates for [[coronary calcium scan]]ning to motivate [[Cardiology#Preventive cardiology and cardiac rehabilitation|preventive cardiology]] and highlights the financial [[conflicts of interest]] in the widespread use of [[coronary stent]]s.<ref name="Lenzer2015">{{cite journal |last1=Lenzer |first1=Jeanne |title=Does a popular documentary about a 'life saving' heart scan promote overtreatment? |journal=[[BMJ]] |date=2015 |volume=351 |issue=8029 |page=h4926 |doi=10.1136/bmj.h4926 |pmid=26438578 |s2cid=5714659 |url=https://www.bmj.com/content/351/bmj.h4926 |access-date=August 8, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=O'Malley|first=Sheila|title=The Widowmaker movie review & film summary (2015)|url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-widowmaker-2015|access-date=January 23, 2021|publisher=Roger Ebert|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-widowmaker-movie-review-20150227-story.html |newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]] |title=MOVIES: Review: 'The Widowmaker' says doctors thrive on crisis over health |first1=Sheri |last1=Linden |date=February 26, 2015 |access-date=January 23, 2021}}</ref> He received annual chest X-rays to monitor his heart condition. During his 2017 examination, doctors discovered a malignant tumor in his lung. It was then successfully removed with surgery.<ref name="lungcancer"/>

On April 23, 2019, King underwent a scheduled [[angioplasty]] and also had [[stents]] inserted. It was erroneously reported that he had another heart attack along with heart failure; these claims were later retracted.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.aol.com/article/entertainment/2019/04/29/larry-king-hospitalized-for-serious-chest-pain-did-not-suffer-heart-attack-updated/23719004/ |title=Larry King hospitalized for serious chest pain, did not suffer heart attack (updated) |publisher=AOL|date=April 29, 2019|access-date=August 21, 2019|archive-date=January 3, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210103105234/https://www.aol.com/article/entertainment/2019/04/29/larry-king-hospitalized-for-serious-chest-pain-did-not-suffer-heart-attack-updated/23719004/ |url-status=live}}</ref> He returned to ''[[Politicking with Larry King]]'' on August 15. On November 27, he said he had had a stroke in March, and was in a coma "for weeks".<ref>{{cite web |last1=Concha |first1=Joe |title=Larry King says he had a stroke in March and was in coma: 'It's been a rough year' |url=https://thehill.com/homenews/media/472278-larry-king-says-he-had-a-stroke-in-march-and-was-in-coma-its-been-a-rough-year |website=The Hill|date=November 27, 2019 |access-date=November 29, 2019 |archive-date=January 3, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210103105316/https://thehill.com/homenews/media/472278-larry-king-says-he-had-a-stroke-in-march-and-was-in-coma-its-been-a-rough-year |url-status=live }}</ref> He later admitted he had contemplated suicide following the stroke, telling Los Angeles television station [[KTLA]], "I thought I was just going to bite the bullet. I didn't want to live this way."<ref>{{cite web |last1=Buckley |first1=Frank |title=Larry King Reveals He Considered Ending His Life After Health Complications |url=https://ktla.com/2020/01/08/larry-king-reveals-he-considered-ending-his-life-after-health-complications-frank-buckley-interviews/ |publisher=KTLA |date=January 8, 2020 |access-date=January 18, 2020 |archive-date=January 3, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210103105239/https://ktla.com/podcasts/frank-buckley-interviews/larry-king-reveals-he-considered-ending-his-life-after-health-complications-frank-buckley-interviews/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

At ten days earlier, on January 2, 2021, it was reported that King had been admitted to the [[Cedars-Sinai Medical Center|Cedars-Sinai]] hospital in [[Los Angeles]] with [[COVID-19]], but moving out of [[Intensive care unit|ICU]].<ref>{{cite news|author=Dakin Andone and Brad Parks|title=Larry King has been hospitalized with Covid-19|url=https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/02/media/larry-king-covid-19/index.html|access-date=January 2, 2021|website=CNN}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Larry King Is Hospitalized With Coronavirus |date=January 2, 2021 |url=https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/larry-king-is-hospitalized-with-coronavirus/2435615/ |access-date=January 2, 2021|publisher=NBC Bay Area|language=en-US|archive-date=January 3, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210103105244/https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/larry-king-is-hospitalized-with-coronavirus/2435615/|url-status=live}}</ref> Three weeks later on January 23 at the age of 87, King died of [[sepsis]] infection while he had recovered from the virus.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Kludt|first1=Tom|last2=Parks|first2=Brad Parks|title=Larry King, legendary talk show host, dies of sepsis at 87 after COVID diagnosis|url=https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/23/us/larry-king-dies-trnd/index.html |access-date=January 23, 2021 |publisher=CNN}}</ref><ref name="auto">{{Cite news|last=McFadden|first=Robert D.|date=January 23, 2021|title=Larry King, Breezy Interviewer of the Famous and Infamous, Dies of Sepsis at 87|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/23/arts/television/larry-king-dead.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20211228/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/23/arts/television/larry-king-dead.html |archive-date=December 28, 2021 |url-access=limited|access-date=January 23, 2021|issn=0362-4331}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref name=obittweet>{{cite tweet|last=King|first=Larry|user=kingsthings|number=1352960673978880000|date=January 23, 2021|title=Larry King 1933 – 2021 ...|access-date=January 23, 2021}}</ref><ref name="Miller"/><ref name="Kreps"/>{{Clarify|reason=Meaning unclear. Had he recovered? Was he recovering? In what way is this related to his sepsis? Consider reordering clauses or separating into distinct sentences.|date=February 2024}} His ex-wife, Shawn Southwick King, told ''[[Entertainment Tonight]]'' that King died from an infection, which was "unrelated" to COVID-19.<ref>{{cite web|last=Bueno|first=Antoinette|title=Shawn King Reveals Husband Larry King's Final Words to Her, Says COVID-19 Was Not Cause of Death|url=https://www.etonline.com/shawn-king-reveals-husband-larry-kings-final-words-to-her-says-covid-19-was-not-cause-of-death|date=January 27, 2021|access-date=January 28, 2021|website=Entertainment Tonight}}</ref> According to the [[Centers for Disease Control and Prevention|CDC]], and [[death certificate]] obtained by ''[[People (magazine)|People]]'' magazine, sepsis was his immediate cause of death, with two underlying conditions leading to the infection—acute [[Hypoxemia|hypoxemic]] [[respiratory failure]] and [[kidney failure|end-stage renal disease]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Ushe|first=Naledi|title=Larry King's Immediate Cause of Death and Underlying Conditions Revealed in Death Certificate|url=https://people.com/tv/larry-king-cause-of-death-revealed-death-certificate/|date=February 12, 2021|access-date=July 6, 2021|website=People}}</ref>