Coretta Scott King in hospital after stroke
By MAE GENTRY , ERNIE SUGGS
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 08/17/05
Coretta Scott King, the widow of Martin Luther King Jr., remained hospitalized in fair condition today after suffering a stroke Tuesday.
"My family and I are overwhelmed by the outpouring of care and support that are being sent from around the world," Martin Luther King III said in a statement. "Please continue to keep her and us in your thoughts and prayers as she moves towards a speedy and complete recovery."
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Coretta King's oldest son did not say why his mother was admitted to Piedmont Hospital, but people close to her say she has had several small strokes since heart problems were first diagnosed in earlier this year and suffered a more serious stroke Tuesday.
Hospital spokeswoman Diana Lewis confirmed King was admitted but declined to provide other details other than that King was in fair condition and was resting comfortably.
King, 78, was diagnosed this spring with a heart malady called atrial fibrillation, which causes irregular heartbeats or fluttering. Medical experts say the condition can lead to a stroke.
Former U.S. Ambassador Andrew Young, a close family friend, said he had spoken to King by phone recently and that she seemed fine.
"She worries about her health," Young said Tuesday. "I just don't know what kind of stress this is that she's been under that she doesn't talk about."
The Rev. Barbara King, a friend of Coretta King's, said she knew she was not well but had no idea of the seriousness of her condition.
"Coretta has been a very courageous woman all of these years," she said. "I always say to people she was really the wife who kept her husband alive in all of hearts and minds with the building of the King Center and the [King holiday]. I've always been proud of her for that."
In 1968, after her husband's assassination, Coretta King founded the King Center in Atlanta to carry on his philosophy of non-violent resistance to bring about social change. She headed the center on Auburn Avenue for 26 years and stepped down in 1994, handing the reins to her son, Dexter, who operated it for a decade. Her other son, Martin III, is now the center's president.
She also has two daughters, actress Yolanda King and the Rev. Bernice King.
Coretta King is known internationally for her work in behalf of human rights and on peace and women's issues. She spoke out early on the pandemic on AIDS in Africa and America.
She successfully lobbied Congress for a federal holiday marking her husband's birthday in January. It is the only national holiday honoring an African-American.
Among her best friends are poet Maya Angelou and talk show queen Oprah Winfrey, who in 2003 surprised her friend with a television makeover. Winfrey trumped herself later when she set King up in two 39th-floor condo units at Park Place in Buckhead, moving her out of the Vine City home she had shared with her husband. In April, King was hospitalized briefly at Piedmont after being taken by ambulance from her Buckhead home. She spent the night of April 26 at the hospital and was released the next day, her 78th birthday.
She has canceled several speeches and public appearances this year citing health problems.
Dr. John F. Beshai, a cardiac electrophysiologist who specializes in heart rhythm disturbances, said atrial fibrillation is a disorganized contraction of the heart's upper chambers. The major risk of the disease is stroke, he said.
Stroke occurs when blood flow to the brain is interrupted by a clogged or ruptured blood vessel. It claims about 162,000 lives each year.
The Rev. Joseph Lowery, a veteran of the civil rights movement and longtime family friend, said he was pleased to hear that King was "resting comfortably."
"She is a beloved figure and people all over the world join me in prayer," he said.
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