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Singer's heart scare leaves Kiss a trio

PAUL STANLEY, a singer and guitarist with rock band Kiss, was forced to pull out of a show in California Friday after his heart started beating at more than twice the normal level, he said on his Web site.

The apparent tachycardia happened while the band was rehearsing for a performance at a casino in San Jacinto, California, about 90 miles east of Los Angeles.

"My heart spontaneously jumped to 190 plus beats per minute, where it stayed for over an hour necessitating paramedics to start an IV and give me a shot to momentarily stop my heart and get it into a normal pattern," Stanley, 55, wrote on his site (http://www.paulstanley.com)

A normal heart rate at rest is about 60 to 80 beats a minute, according to the American Heart Association.

Tachycardia, or rapid heart rate, can cause palpitations, shortness of breath, chest pain, dizziness, lightheadedness, fainting or near fainting, the group said on its Web site (http://www.americanheart.org).

Stanley said he was advised performing would be risky, and the show went on without him. Fellow principal Gene Simmons told fans the group would play as a trio, and turned the show into a tribute to his ailing bandmate.

A call to Kiss manager Doc McGhee for an update on Stanley's condition was not immediately returned late Saturday.

Stanley, born Stanley Eisen, and Simmons co-founded Kiss in New York City in 1973. Adored by fans, despised by critics, the group made a name for itself performing in white face make-up and ghoulish costumes.

Hits during its heyday included such anthems of teen rebellion as Rock and Roll All Nite and Shout It Out Loud. Stanley released a solo album last year.