Rising country music star Ashley Cooke has released her latest single, “the hell you are,” a powerful breakup anthem, just days after revealing she’s been diagnosed with a rare, life-threatening heart condition called Brugada syndrome.The 28-year-old singer, who rose to national recognition with her 2023 debut album “Shot in the Dark”, opened up about her diagnosis in a July 13 interview with Taste of Country, describing the condition as “terrifying.”
“That’s the scary part of Brugada syndrome,” Cooke said. “It just feels like a ghost around you. Because there’s no warning signs, no symptoms. It’s just one of those things where all of a sudden one day, this certain thing in your heart can just stop, and you’re just gone.”
It is a genetic disorder that causes the heart’s lower chambers to beat irregularly, sometimes leading to sudden cardiac arrest, particularly during sleep. According to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, it affects approximately 5 in 10,000 people. Often undetected until a cardiac episode occurs, the condition is diagnosed through a specialized EKG and sometimes treated with implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs) in high-risk cases.
Cooke shared that multiple members of her family have died unexpectedly due to the condition. Her own diagnosis came amid a tumultuous year when her mother recently suffered a heart attack and was readmitted for chest pains, her father has battled cancer five times, and both grandmothers passed away in recent months.
“All this happened while I was on tour,” she said in a TikTok video posted July 7. “Like, amazing career year, and terrible personal life year.”
Cooke channeled her emotion into “the hell you are,” an emotionally-charged song co-written with Seth Ennis, Joe Fox, Chase McGill, and Emily Weisband, and produced by country hitmaker Dan Huff.
“This song is that moment of clarity when you finally put your foot down on what you deserve,” Cooke said in a statement. “It’s calling someone out for their actions not matching their words and deciding to be done believing that it'll be different this time.”
“That’s the scary part of Brugada syndrome,” Cooke said. “It just feels like a ghost around you. Because there’s no warning signs, no symptoms. It’s just one of those things where all of a sudden one day, this certain thing in your heart can just stop, and you’re just gone.”
It is a genetic disorder that causes the heart’s lower chambers to beat irregularly, sometimes leading to sudden cardiac arrest, particularly during sleep. According to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, it affects approximately 5 in 10,000 people. Often undetected until a cardiac episode occurs, the condition is diagnosed through a specialized EKG and sometimes treated with implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs) in high-risk cases.
“All this happened while I was on tour,” she said in a TikTok video posted July 7. “Like, amazing career year, and terrible personal life year.”
Cooke channeled her emotion into “the hell you are,” an emotionally-charged song co-written with Seth Ennis, Joe Fox, Chase McGill, and Emily Weisband, and produced by country hitmaker Dan Huff.
“This song is that moment of clarity when you finally put your foot down on what you deserve,” Cooke said in a statement. “It’s calling someone out for their actions not matching their words and deciding to be done believing that it'll be different this time.”
The music video visually mirrors that emotional upheaval, starting with her preparing a romantic dinner and ending in destruction after discovering betrayal.
She is currently on tour with Parker McCollum, with shows lined up through November 2025.
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