Toni Braxton. Picture: Instagram
Toni Braxton feels lucky to be alive after coming close to a "massive heart attack".
The 55-year-old singer - who was diagnosed with autoimmune condition lupus in 2008 - dismissed the chest pains she began suffering with last year, attributing them to grief over the death of her sister, so kept postponing a medical appointment.
She said on “Today With Hoda and Jenna”: "I had some pain in my chest.
"But I was having this pain in my chest and I thought it was because I was so sad, we had just lost one of my sisters."
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The “Unbreak My Heart” singer eventually went to her appointment, and was shocked after undergoing tests, which showed a problem with the main artery in her heart.
She said: "I was told that I would have had a massive heart attack. And I wouldn't have survived.
"Even sometimes when I talk about it, I get a little emotional about it.
"Because I feel so fortunate and so blessed. And I was not going to go to that appointment. You put things off, 'I'll do it tomorrow. Everything's OK. I'm sure I'm fine’."
The tests also showed Braxton's kidneys were having trouble because of her lupus.
She said: "Having SLE, so it can attack any organ in my body. Now it's starting to affect my kidneys.
"I'm here to talk about it, 'cause had I not did that appointment, I would not be here today talking to you guys. So I want to educate people about that."
The Grammy-award winning star admitted she sometimes "gets sad" over her health issues but she tries to be optimistic.
She said: "Some days I do get sad. I'm not gonna lie … some days I'm sad, but there are good and bad days. And I always try to think of the glass half full … always a silver lining."
Though Braxton is thankful she "can still sing", she is no longer able to tour the way she used to.
She said: "I know I'll never be able to do shows seven days a week again, five to seven days.
"I love performing, that's my favourite thing to do, but I can do one-offs. I can do shows here and there."