Aerosmith Drummer Joey Kramer Opens Up About September Heart Procedure

When Aerosmith drummer Joey Kramer was forced out of touring for a short stint in September, we were told it was due to a minor heart procedure.

But Kramer recently cleared up the facts on Eddie Trunk's podcast, via Rolling Stone.

"The likes of TMZ and some other [media outlets] out there said that I had previous problems, that I had existing heart problems from the past and it was something that I always had, which was just completely not true," he said. "I've never had any problems in the past. It's just strictly a hereditary thing. There's a family history, and I was the victim. But no more."

Kramer, who came up with the band's iconic name, thought he was simply dealing with acid reflux.

"I kept getting this burning sensation in my chest, and that's what I thought it was," he said. "My [general practitioner] said to me, 'Just to make sure and rule out that it's anything cardiac-related, go and take a stress test.' So I went and took the stress test. I got through the echogram with flying colors. He said that my cardiovascular system looked like that of a 48- or a 50-year-old, and I'm 64. And then I got on the treadmill, and when I got on the treadmill, it started to bother me a little bit."

That was when he had the "minor procedure" — an angioplasty with two stents inserted — to fix the blockage.

He took one week off to recuperate while his son Jesse filled in on drums.

"It wasn't my time," he said. "It wasn't time for my ticket to be punched. And so I got fixed, and I'm back 150 percent, and everything is as good as it can possibly be."

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