Dear toyanukenut-ga;
Thank you for allowing me to answer your interesting question. Believe
it or not, finding these names and building this list was probably one
of the more difficult answers I?ve been asked to provide. I initially
thought it might be fairly straighforward but finding these people
proved to be more like squeezing water from a rock. Ironically I found
nothing in particular that made this group of people especially
impervious to heart disease, rather it seems that religious leader
simply don?t make it a point to publish details of their own personal
maladies as part of the public record.
At any rate, it took me seven days but after reading biographies of
literally HUNDREDS of individuals I finally managed to find 21 that
fit the description of the people you requested. I hope you are
pleased and I apologize for taking so many days to complete the work.
I was beginning to worry about it myself for a while:
Oral Roberts
Claim to fame: Pentecostal televangelist; leader in the charismatic
movement, Founder Oral Roberts University
Born: January 24, 1918
Status: Living, age 88
Oral Roberts has reportedly suffered at least one heart attack and has
undergone an angioplasty procedure to clear a primary artery.
?In the early 1990s, Oral Roberts had a heart attack and was
unconscious for two weeks.?
http://www.cwfa.org/articles/8203/LEGAL/family/index.htm
http://www.ondoctrine.com/10robero.htm
Robert Schuller
Claim to fame: Pastor, founder of Crystal Cathedral
Date of Birth: September 16, 1926
Current Status: Living; age 80
-- Had a heart attack and subsequently underwent surgery to have a
stint placed in a blocked artery. Survived.
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0106/29/lkl.00.html
John Wimber
Claim to fame: Founder of the Vineyard Movement.
Date of Birth: February 25, 1934
Status: Died on November 17, 1997 at the age of 63
Cause of Death: Brain hemorrhage caused by an accidental fall.
-- Had open heart surgery just weeks before his death that may have
contributed to his accidental fall. He survived the surgery but not
the fall.
http://www.pfo.org/vine-die.htm
Elijah Muhammad
Claim to fame: Nation of Islam leader
Date of Birth: October 7, 1897
Status: Died on February 27, 1975 at the age of 77
Cause of Death: Congestive heart failure
-- Suffered from congestive heart failure and diabetes for several
years before his death.
http://www.nndb.com/people/177/000026099/
Martin Luther
Claim to fame: Christian theologian and Augustinian monk whose
teachings inspired the Protestant Reformation
Date of Birth: November 10, 1483
Status: Died February 18, 1546 at the age of 62
Cause of death: Believed to have been natural causes
Luther first suffered what was described as ?heart problems? in 1527.
This is now believed to have been the result of coronary thrombosis,
which in all probability was actually responsible for his death some
years later.
http://www.susanlynnpeterson.com/luther/church.html
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=2529669&dopt=Abstract
Pope Pius X (born Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto)
Claim to fame: Pontiff
Date of Birth: June 2, 1835
Date of Death: Died on August 20, 1914
Cause of Death: Suffered a heart attack in 1913 and never fully
recovered. Died in 1914 at the age of 71.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Pius_X
Sheik Omar Abdel-Rahman
Claim to fame: Egyptian Islamic religious leader, Imprisoned for conspiracy
Born: May 3, 1938
Status: Living, age 68
"Sheikh Omar confounded prison officials by refusing to take his
medications for diabetes, high blood pressure, and a heart condition"
http://www.angelarose.com/FamousDiabetics/Fam-Political.htm
John Osteen
Claim to fame: Pastor/Leader of the charismatic mega-church
"Lakewood", Houston TX (Father of Joel Osteen)
Born: April 5, 1921
Status: Suffered heart and kidney disease and other ailments. Died of
heart attack January 23, 1999 at the age of 77
"One of the more recent sad stories was John Osteen who was a pastor
in Houston of a mega-church, who had kidney dialysis in late 1998. He
also had a heart catheterization in August that determined all was
well with his heart at that time. Later on doctors performed surgery
to put in a pacemaker for his heart."
http://www.letusreason.org/Wf25.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Osteen
Kenneth E. Hagin
Claim to fame: Often referred to as the "father of the modern Word of
faith movement".
Born: August 20, 1917
Status: Died September 19, 2003 at the age of 86 after lapsing into a
coma due to a heart arrhythmia. Hagin suffered four separate episodes
of heart-crisis in 1939, 1942, 1949, and 1973 but claimed he was
healed of numerous sicknesses including a "deformed heart,"
"paralysis," and "incurable blood disease."
http://www.letusreason.org/Wf25.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenneth_Hagin
Kathryn Johanna Kuhlman
Claim to fame: 20th Century American evangelist and "faith healer"
Born: May 9, 1907
Status: Died February 20, 1976 at the age of 68. She "battled heart
disease for nearly twenty years" and died on the operating table while
undergoing open-heart surgery.
http://www.deceptioninthechurch.com/healthyself.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kathryn_Kuhlman
R. W. Schambach
Claim to fame: Televangelist; faith healer
Date of Birth: Unknown
Status: Living, age 70?s
R. W. Schambach reportedly had quadruple bypass surgery and suffers
(or at one time suffered) from heart disease.
http://www.deceptioninthechurch.com/healthyself.html
http://www.schambach.org/
Hobart Freeman
Claim to fame: Charismatic preacher, author of faith healing publications
Born: October 17, 1920
Status: Died December 8, 1984 at the age of 63 from complications of
an ulcerated leg and pneumonia. Suffered from congestive heart
failure.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hobart_Freeman
http://www.watchman.org/cults/freeman.htm
Donald E. Wildmon
Claim to fame: Moral crusader
Born: January 18, 1938
Status: Living; age 68
Reportedly suffered a heart attack in 1992 but survived.
http://www.nndb.com/people/201/000062015/
Jimmy Swaggart
Claim to fame: Televangelist
Born: March 15, 1935
Status: Living; age 71
Was admitted to Baton Rouge General Hospital on February 3, 2001 due
to chest pains. It was determined that he has blocked arteries and
underwent an angioplasty procedure at the age of 65.
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0841438/bio
http://www.nndb.com/people/556/000022490/
Rajneesh Chandra Mohan Jain (aka "Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh", aka "Osho")
Claim to fame: Guru; Founder of Osho-Rajneesh movement
Born: December 11, 1931
Status: Died January 19, 1990 at the age of 58
The official case of death was reported to have been "heart failure
however the Bhagwan claimed that his heart damaged was caused four
years prior to his death by thallium poisoning in a failed
assassination attempt by the CIA.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rajneesh
http://www.religioustolerance.org/rajneesh.htm
Archbishop Judson M. Procyk
Claim to fame: Archbishop of the Byzantine Catholic Archdiocese of Pittsburgh
Date of Birth: April 9, 1931
Status: Died April 24, 2001 at the age of 70.
Cause of Death: Massive heart attack brought on by heart disease and
hypertension, for which he had been treated for the last several years
of his life.
http://www.post-gazette.com/regionstate/20010501metropolitan5.asp
Cardinal Thomas Joseph Winning
Claim to fame: Archbishop of Glasgow
Date of Birth: June 3, 1925
Status: Died June 21, 2001at the age of 76.
Cause of Death: Winning suffered a heart attack on June 10 and was
hospitalized. He was treated and released in ten days with the
expectation that he would recover. He died less than 48 hours after
returning home.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/1379231.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/1393156.stm
Sayyid Ali Husaini Sistani
Claim to fame: Grand Ayatollah (Shi'a marja)
Date of Birth: August 4, 1930
Status: Living; age 76
?In early August 2004, Ayatollah Sistani, who has long been suffering
from a heart condition, reportedly suffered serious health problems.
He is said to have been transported to Beirut and from there to London
for medical treatment.?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Ayatollah_Ali_al-Sistani
Dr. Havanpola Ratanasara
Claim to fame: U.S. Buddhism Leader, Founder of the Buddhist Sangha
Council of Southern California
Date of Birth: February 28, 1920
Status: Ratanasara died on May 26, 2000 at age 80. He apparently had a
severe, unspecified form of heart disease for quite some time in the
years leading up to his death.
?He suffered from diabetes and heart problems and died in his sleep
last Friday surrounded by monks in his apartment at the International
Buddhist Meditation Center in Los Angeles.?
http://www.urbandharma.org/ratana/index1.html
http://www.urbandharma.org/ratana/ratana2/ratanatimes.html
Herbert W. Armstrong
Claim to fame: Founder of the Worldwide Church of God.
Date of Birth: July 31, 1892
Status: Armstrong died on January 16, 1986 at the age of 93. Clearly
Armstrong battled serious unspecified heart problems for years that
would eventually proved fatal.
?Armstrong had survived severe heart problems in the late 1970s, but
by the mid-1980s he experienced rapidly declining health. By 1985 this
was common knowledge among church members as the 93-year-old preacher
had not been seen in public for several months. According to The
Worldwide News, the official church newsletter, Armstrong told his
advisory council on January 7, 1986 of his decision to appoint Tkach
to succeed him in the event of his death. It was also announced by
Armstrong in a letter to members of the church. Armstrong died on
January 16, 1986, only nine days after naming his successor.?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_W._Tkach
Billy Sunday
Claim to fame: Evangelist, a major social influence in the temperance
movement, which led to Prohibition in 1919
Date of Birth: November 19, 1862
Status: Sunday obviously suffered from an undiagnosed form of heart
disease which ultimately led to his death. He experienced his first
heart attack while in Chattanooga, TN. in May 15, 1935 but refused to
seek treatment. His obituary quoted his wife Helen as saying that he
?suffered a stroke of angina pectoris at 2:00 o'clock Tuesday morning.
However, he apparently had recovered and was feeling active throughout
the day?. After supper that evening Sunday retired to his room about
8PM and a found a short time ?suffering intensely?. He died of a heart
attack on November 6, 1935 and his friends were quoted in the obituary
as saying they ?weren?t surprised?. He was 61 years old.
http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h3877.html
http://yesteryear.clunette.com/sunday.html
I hope you find that my answer exceeds your expectations. If you have
any questions about my research please post a clarification request
prior to rating the answer. Otherwise I welcome your rating and your
final comments and I look forward to working with you again in the
near future. Thank you for bringing your question to us.
Best regards;
Tutuzdad-ga ? Google Answers Researcher
[INFORMATION SOURCES]
Defined above
[SEARCH STRATEGY]
SEARCH ENGINE(S) USED:
Google ://www.google.com
[SEARCH TERMS USED]
Heart
Cardiac
Problems
Disease
Angioplasty
Hypertension
Myocardial infarction
Religious leaders
Church
Also used variations of the keywords: religious, temple, synagogue,
Christianity, Judaism, Catholic, Buddhism, Hindu, Islam, Muslim, Monk
and various identifying Christian denominational keywords. |
