Country music star Colt Ford is leaning on his faith after surviving a near-fatal heart attack.
On April 4, before a performance in Arizona, the “Slow Ride” singer faced a frightening health crisis and nearly dropped dead.
After Ford suffered a heart attack, he revealed he died twice before reaching the hospital, and ended up in a coma for eight days.
COUNTRY STAR COLT FORD SHEDS 60 POUNDS, SWITCHES DIET AFTER HEART ATTACK LEFT HIM IN 8-DAY COMA
Once Ford woke up in a hospital bed, he told himself this was a sign from God.
“God just told me, I need to sit down and pay attention to what’s going on around me,” Ford, 54, told Fox News Digital.
WATCH: COLT FORD CREDITS GOD FOR SECOND CHANCE AFTER NEAR-FATAL HEART ATTACK
“And I think try to use it for … something as positive as I can … no matter what it is, I’m meant to have that second chance. That just doesn’t happen. You know? … It is such a gift. I realize how precious some things are now, and it makes me focus a little bit differently.”
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Ford described how his near-death experience changed his outlook on life.
“Wow. It’s been pretty profound, for sure. … It just makes you realize some of the things you think are important or that maybe you were chasing as a younger man or a younger person … they’re not really that important,” he said.
“I’ve always been … an alpha male kind of guy. And all of a sudden, I wake up out of a coma and I can’t even feed myself ice out of a Styrofoam cup. … It’s very humbling.”
In May, during an appearance on the “Big D & Bubba” show, Ford admitted he “didn’t even remember” going out to Phoenix to do a show. “I walked back to the bus, texted my fiancée, ‘Hi baby,’ and fell over dead. I died two times. Luckily, my band came out to check on me. … All of a sudden, that’s when all hell broke loose.”
When asked if he had any symptoms leading up to his health crisis, Ford told Fox News Digital, “It was kind of a perfect storm for me.”
Ford explained that he was working towards his weight-loss journey and his hospitalization led him to do a serious reality check.
WATCH: COLT FORD SHARES HEALTH UPDATE AFTER SUFFERING NEAR-FATAL HEART ATTACK
In 2022, the country star began the switch to a healthier lifestyle after he was diagnosed with myasthenia gravis, an autoimmune disease that causes muscle weakness.
Ford detailed how his diagnosis threw him into a “big medical loop.”
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“That myostatin, it really messed up my vision and caused a lot of fatigue,” he told Fox News Digital. “I just started getting that under control.”
Myostatin is an extracellular cytokine – a type of protein that is made by certain immune and non-immune cells – mostly expressed in skeletal muscles and known to play a crucial role in the negative regulation of muscle mass, according to the National Institutes of Health.
Ford grew up in the South and admitted he had unhealthy food habits and was forced to change his diet and fitness routine. He added that being on the road touring didn’t help him cut back on his food indulgences.
“I’m from Georgia. … We fry things, we put butter on it, we put gravy on it. … I’d love to eat my mama’s cubed steak and rice and gravy and mac and cheese. I love all that stuff. And, I loved Zaxby’s and fried chicken … burgers. That’s what I ate on the road, too.”
WATCH: COLT FORD ‘BROKE THE CRAVINGS’ OF UNHEALTHY LIFESTYLE AFTER HEART ATTACK LED TO 8-DAY COMA
Since his heart attack, Ford decided to scale back on fried foods and eat in moderation.
“I broke the cravings for a lot of that stuff … I don’t want to go eat it.”
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While fried chicken and Mountain Dew were previously a staple for Ford, he now has a new fitness and diet routine.
“Lots of grilled chicken, lots of grilled stuff,” he remarked. “I haven’t had a soda since April, and I used to love me some Mountain Dew. So, no soda, just water. Unsweet tea.”
“I’m on the treadmill a lot and trying to get into some yoga and Pilates,” Ford laughed as he said that’s not something he ever thought he’d get into.
“I’m working on all that and just trying to get my strength … it’s a lot of getting your strength back and your balance … but it’s OK. I’m fighting through it. I’m still here. I’m still blessed.”
Ford told Fox News Digital that at one point, he weighed 350 pounds, and now he’s down to about 190 pounds.
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With a second lease on life, Ford is charging into 2025 with renewed energy, ready to deliver new shows, fresh collaborations and an arsenal of new music — mindful of the fact that life can change in the blink of an eye, and he plans to “walk a little slower” moving forward.
The country star recently released his first single since his heart attack, “Hell Out of It.”
“It was a song written by some great friends of mine, Cole Taylor and Michael Tyler … I loved the song instantly when Cole sent it to me. But then after this, it took on a whole different meaning,” Ford said, referring to his near-fatal heart attack.
“It was already like you knew what the song meant, but for me, it just changed everything.”
Ford collaborated with his good friend, Michael Ray, on his new song, as described the meaning behind the track.
“I’m trying to make things simpler … get back to the basic stuff. Just being a good human being, being a good steward of the Earth.”
