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Nolan Ryan leaves hospital
Posted: Friday April 28, 2000 07:02 PM
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) -- Strikeout king Nolan Ryan left the hospital Friday morning, five days after undergoing heart bypass surgery. "As soon as the physicians gave the OK, he was out of here," said Shelley Swafford, a spokeswoman for the Heart of Hospital of Austin, where Ryan was recovering. The length of Ryan's hospital stay was considered to be about average, according to Swafford. Ryan did not have a heart attack, but surgeons performed emergency bypass surgery Sunday afternoon after he complained of breathing trouble, tingling in his arms and chest pains. Thousands of fans sent supportive messages to Ryan and his family while he was in the hospital. Ryan, 53, and his wife issued a statement Friday thanking them. "Ruth and I would like to acknowledge the outpouring of support and well-wishes from friends and fans after my recent heart surgery," he said. "Your prayers and concerns are deeply appreciated." He also thanked medical teams at the Round Rock Medical Center, which first diagnosed his heart problems Sunday, and at the heart hospital. "With their help and with the support of my family, I expect to make a complete recovery," he said in the statement. Ryan went to a Round Rock hospital after feeling sick while walking around the Dell Diamond, the new home of the Round Round Express, a minor league baseball team he partly owns. From Round Rock, he was moved to the hospital in Austin, where he was rushed into surgery. Tests revealed a near-total blockage in the left coronary artery, which supplies 75 percent of the blood to the heart, doctors said. Ryan was a first-ballot Hall of Famer in 1999. He holds or shares 48 major league, American League or National League records, including 5,714 strikeouts and seven no-hitters. He retired in 1993 with the Texas Rangers. Ryan, his son Reid and Houston businessman Don Sanders purchased the Houston Astros' Class AA affiliate and this year moved it from Jackson, Miss., to a new, $25 million stadium located just north of Austin.
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