Lynyrd Skynyrd's Gary Rossington Suffers Heart Attack

ATLANTA (CelebrityAccess) — Lynyrd Skynyrd guitarist Gary Rossington said he plans to return to the road by next month after suffering a heart attack on October 8th, in Atlanta.

Rossington is one of the founding members of Lynyrd Skynyrd along with Allen Collins and Ronnie Van Zant, and survived the plane crash that killed six other members of the group and their crew, including Steve Gaines, Cassie Gaines, and Van Zant.

According to CMT, Johnny Van Zant said that Rossington was already scheduled to undergo a medical procedure to replace two heart stents when he suffered the heart attack and that it may have been precipitated by a change of medication.

“He got off his blood thinner for a week and actually formed a blood clot, from what I understand,” he said. Rossington had previously undergone bypass surgery in 2003.

In the wake of Rossington's illness, the band has canceled some upcoming performances, including their show in Terre Haute, Ind. and Mt. Pleasant, Mi. The MI show will be rescheduled in 2016.

In a statement released Wednesday, Rossington said, “I just wanted to thank everyone for all the well wishes and support. I am feeling better and taking it one day at a time and getting excellent care and support from my doctor and family.

“I will be back before you know it. It’s gonna take more than a lil ol’ heart attack to keep me down. Much love and see you all soon!’”