Warren recuperating after heart attack

ARCADIA, Calif. – Less than a week after he nearly died from a severe colon infection and accompanying heart attack, trainer Don Warren was recovering at a local hospital and eager to get back to work with his top horse, the 2011 champion older male Acclamation.

Warren, 60, suffered a heart attack last week that may have been brought on by an internal infection. Warren’s wife, Pat, said the initial prognosis was not good. “The doctors didn’t think he would make it,” she said. “He was pretty sick.”

Warren was fine when he went to bed the evening of May 15. The next morning he felt sick and stayed in bed all day. His condition steadily worsened, and on May 17 his wife drove him to the emergency room. “He was in renal failure, his liver was enlarged, and [doctors] weren’t sure what it was,” she said. “The only thing they were sure of is that he had suffered a heart attack.”

Medical staff suggested that Pat Warren summon family members for a final visit, which she did. “The whole Warren clan was there,” she said. But finally, doctors were able to identify and treat the colon infection, and by Tuesday he was responding to treatment. Warren was moved from intensive care to a step-down unit at Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Baldwin Park.

Acclamation’s owner, Bud Johnston, visited Warren on Monday, and said he was in good spirits and “anxious to get out of there.” Johnston said Acclamation is scheduled to work Friday morning at Hollywood Park. Don Warren told his wife, “I’ll be there.”