Country Music legend Randy Travis is in critical condition after doctors implanted a left ventricular assist device (LVAD) to assist his weakened heart to pump blood.  His condition is considered life threatening.

Travis was admitted to the hospital suffering from viral cardiomyopathy.  That’s a weakening of the heart muscles caused by a viral infection.  The condition brought Travis to congestive heart failure.  That's when the heart isn't strong enough to pump blood properly, causing fluid to back up into the lungs.  The Impella LVAD device is a temporary way to strengthen the heart's pumping power.

The left ventricular assist device is used as a temporary fix.  Some patients recover to the point the device can come out, others might require a heart transplant.

It’s the latest in a series of setbacks for the 54-year old singer of such hits as “Forever and Ever, Amen”, “On the Other Hand”, and “Three Wooden Crosses”.  Earlier this year, Travis pleaded guilty to a charge of driving while intoxicated in Texas.  And he was hospitalized in 2012 after a fight near a church in Plano, Texas.

His fans and colleagues are watching the situation.

“I always feel like he's part of our family, he's in our family,” said Keith Urban.  “And I was one of those guys in Australia that bought ‘Storms of Life’ and became a Randy fan very quickly in late ‘80s, and I really feel for him right now.”