His Aorta Ruptures During Live Performance and Starts to Spill Blood into His Chest [Video]

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Aorta Ruptures
Aorta Ruptures

You’ve gotta love that British Steel, that is for sure. Sadly, we saw that one performer’s aorta ruptured during a concert. Will he be okay?

Well, the guitarist was in Judas Priest, and he was a guy by the name of Richie Faulkner, and luckily he is still doing well considering the tricky situation that he found himself in.

Last month, he released an update on his condition after he had the emergency heart surgery:

“I’ve always been grateful for the opportunities I’ve been presented with. I’ve always considered myself THE most fortunate man ever – to be able to play my favorite music – with my favorite band – to my favorite people around the world,” the rocker declared in his latest message that he shared with UCR.

“Today just being able to type this to you all is the biggest gift of all.”

Faulkner decided to detail the scary situation that landed him in emergency surgery in the hospital.

“As I watch footage from the Louder Than Life Festival in Kentucky, I can see in my face the confusion and anguish I was feeling whilst playing ‘Painkiller’ as my aorta ruptured and started to spill blood into my chest cavity,” Faulkner revealed. “I was having what my doctor called an aortic aneurysm and complete aortic dissection.”

“From what I’ve been told by my surgeon, people with this don’t usually make it to the hospital alive,” he continued. “I was taken to nearby Rudd Heart & Lung Center and quickly went into what turned out to be a 10 ½ hour emergency open heart surgery.”

Wow.

This was an intense procedure that required parts of the guitarist’s to be replaced with an array of “mechanical components.” Considering that he has always been a wordsmith, Faulkner slyly remarked, “I’m literally made of metal now.”

He is now in recovery, and the rock star can’t help but wonder what could have happened if certain things had gone just a bit differently.

“If it was a full set, would I have played until total collapse?,” he pondered. “If it hadn’t happened in such a high adrenaline situation would my body have been able to keep going long enough to reach the hospital? The amazing Heart & Lung Center was 4 miles away from the gig site – if it had been further away…”

Faulkner noted that he had no history of heart disease whatsoever before this attack occurred, but he closed his message by thanking all of his friends, family, and the fans of Judas Priest over the years for the support they have shown during this difficult time.

“I thank you all so much,” the rocker affirmed. “Although I have a recovery road ahead of me, as soon as I’m able to get up and running again, you’ll be the first to know and we’ll get back out there delivering the goods for you all!”

Judas Priest had to postpone their 50th anniversary in the wake of Faulkner’s sudden heart and aorta issues. “As soon as we have any updates from his doctors on when we can reschedule the dates, we will of course announce them,” the band assured fans.

Take a look at the video here: