SAXON frontman Biff Byford has confirmed to Planet Rock that he suffered a heart attack before undergoing an emergency triple bypass surgery last September. "It was a heart attack, but it wasn't like a Hollywood heart attack, [where] you drop on the floor with your legs up in the air," he said (hear audio below). "I was biking, I was on my bike — I do a lot of biking and walking. And I was getting a bit breathless. And I went to the doctor. They sent me in to the hospital straight away. One of my arteries was getting blocked. They couldn't get to it easily; it was risky. So they gave me a heart bypass. And so while they were in there, they did all three… So, yeah, they did all three. And then I came to, and that was it. I was really ill." The 69-year-old singer feels much better now and will return to the road with SAXON in March before embarking on a solo tour in April. A heart bypass surgery, or coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery, is used to improve blood flow to the heart. A surgeon uses blood vessels taken from another area of the body to bypass the damaged arteries. The term triple bypass refers to the number of coronary arteries bypassed in the procedure. In other words, a triple bypass means three coronary arteries are bypassed. Byford's first solo album, "School Of Hard Knocks", was released last Friday, February 21 via Silver Lining Music. Biff's first-ever solo tour dates begins in the U.K. in April and continues to the rest of Europe in May. The show, in the form of "An Evening With...", will be split into two halves. The first features Biff in conversation with Don Jamieson (American comedian and star of VH1 Classic's "That Metal Show") on all aspects of his life and career. After the break, Biff and his band will play some new songs, covers and, maybe, a SAXON song or two.
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