Grayson County Judge-Executive Kevin Henderson has survived a “severe heart attack” while on vacation.
In a social media posted Saturday afternoon, Henderson said: “While we was in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park, I decided it would be a good time to have a severe heart attack since we was as far away from civilization as we could get.”
Henderson added that he was taken to the “Sevier County emergency room” before being transferred to a Knoxville hospital where he underwent “emergency surgery” to address a “100% blockage in one artery in my heart.”
His doctor, Henderson noted, said he was the “luckiest guy in Tennessee that day.”
The judge said he spent three days in ICU in Knoxville but is now home in Grayson County.
“I have some cardiac rehab to do, but should make a full recovery,” Henderson stated before imploring people to “not ignore the signs of a heart attack. Had I ignored the signs, Missy (Henderson) would be making funeral arrangements. I’ve lost a lot of good friends this year the same way.”
Henderson was named Grayson County judge-executive in August 2017 by then-Gov. Matt Bevin after the resignation of Gary Logsdon. He was then elected to the post in November 2018 and again in November 2022.
A former state trooper and Leitchfield Police Chief, Henderson spent 27 years in law enforcement before becoming judge-executive.
According to the Cleveland Clinic, some of the common early warning signs of a heart attack that may not seem like an emergency, and can be easy to shrug off, include:
- Pressure or tightness in your chest (rather than pain)
- Pain in your arm, jaw, neck or back
- Cold sweats
- Heartburn or indigestion
- Shortness of breath
- Nausea or vomiting
- Unusual fatigue
(Photo: Judge-Executive Kevin Henderson and his wife Missy, courtesy of social media)
By Ken Howlett, News Director
Contact Ken at ken@k105.com
