The King of Hearts Helps Others Follow a He...( LOS ANGELES Nov. 19 /- Today talk sho...),Health

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 19 /PRNewswire/ -- Today talk show host, Larry King, turns 75. In conjunction with his birthday -- the Larry King Cardiac Foundation, COPE Health Solutions and the LAC+USC Camino de Salud Network celebrated the second annual King of Hearts gala in Los Angeles. The Foundation, which provides cardiac diagnostics and helps pay for treatment, is a direct result of King's own heart trouble. In 1987, King suffered a heart attack, one that led to quintuple-bypass surgery. He decided then, he wrote in a CNN column, to help others with the same needs.

"It forced me to reconsider my lifestyle. And it made me aware of something else: This whole thing cost a bundle of money! I was lucky. I had a great health plan with CNN. Insurance provided by the company paid for the procedure. How could someone without insurance or vast wealth afford it? Where would they get quality care and treatment?" King wrote.*

Cliff Cabral

Cliff Cabral, a 54 year-old construction worker, never expected to be speaking at a gala event with King and other celebrities. He knew he had a family history of heart disease and that he, one day, might suffer the same fate as his father, who died of a heart attack in his early fifties.

"I was well aware that I had some serious risks. I put off having the life I wanted. I didn't want to have kids ... I was afraid I would die of a heart attack while they were young. That wasn't something I was going to let happen." After receiving clinical confirmation of a cardiac condition at 36, Cliff was referred to an LA County-managed program that helps patients pay for the high costs of cardiac care.

"If I had not found out about the program available through the county, I wouldn't have had my first pacemaker. I have my third pacemaker now, which I got through the King Foundation. I didn't have anywhere near enough insurance or money to pay for it. There are a lot of us wh
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