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Sir Rod Stewart’s wife, Penny Lancaster, has opened up about the singer’s “underlying health issues” that were discovered after the singer almost fainted on stage.
The 81-year-old “Maggie May” singer has endured a year of health problems. After Stewart almost collapsed while performing in Utah in June, doctors discovered heart problems, and he underwent a coronary stent procedure. He was ordered to take four weeks off his final tour to recover.
Lancaster said that Stewart, whom she married in 2007, is now doing “great” after going through “a couple of incidents where he had an upper respiratory infection”. She also addressed the situation in Utah, where he had to breathe from an oxygen tank, having become noticeably winded during the performance .
Penny Lancaster has shared healsth update on husband Rod Stewart (Getty)
“He was at a concert where there was very high altitude, so it would affect anybody – but what we didn’t know was there was an underlying heart issue,” she told Vanessa Feltz’s YouTube show At Home With Vanessa.
Lancaster continued: “I mean, he’s like one of the fittest guys I know. Forget being fit for 80-odd. He’s fit for someone my age in their 50s. But you know, you get young kids collapsing with heart issues unknown to them – fortunately, it was at the right time, at the right place, and they detected a slight blockage which needed a stent.”
She said that Stewart was lucky to have it detected, and is “now eager to get back” to performing.
“According to a lot of research, it appears most people over the age of 65 will often need or require a stent. As one gets older, over the age of 65, 75, to get heart disease or prostate cancer, he’s had both.”
After undergoing the coronary stent procedure, Stewart said in a statement: “I’m already feeling better and very much on the mend. I want to thank the doctors, nurses and everyone who has taken such wonderful care of me.
“I am deeply disappointed to miss these shows and sorry to let my fans down, but I look forward to getting back on stage and having a good time with you all again soon.”
Rod Stewart is doing ‘great’ after year of health issues (AFP/Getty)
While One Last Time was intended to be Stewart’s farewell tour, he suggested back in 2024 that he truly did feel “Forever Young” – a reference to his 1988 hit song – and would want to continue performing on a smaller scale.
“This will be the end of large scale world tours for me, but I have no desire to retire. I love what I do, and I do what I love,” he said in an Instagram post at the time.
“I’m fit, have a full head of hair, and can run 100 metres in 18 seconds at the jolly age of 79. I’d like to move onto a Great American Songbook, Swing Fever tour the year after next – smaller venues and more intimacy. But then again, I may not…”