Randy Travis latest

Randy Travis' heart problems are likely more to do with family history than his lifestyle.

The country music star was airlifted to hospital earlier this month after his heart muscles became weak due to a viral infection. He suffered a stroke while he was being treated and remains in the medical centre.

The star has a history of issues with alcohol, but these are reportedly completed unrelated to his current ill health.

"He has what's called idiopathic cardiomyopathy, which means he has scarring of his heart muscle that is causing his heart to be weak and not able to support his circulation without help of either medical devices or medication," Dr. Michael Mack said in a statement, according to TMZ. "From the appearance on echocardiograms, which are images of his heart, this is not the appearance of either drugs or alcohol causing the heart condition. Mr. Travis does have a family history of cardiomyopathy and it is more likely related to that."

The 54-year-old star remains in a critical condition but is now stable. Randy is still on a ventilator but responded well to treatment following his stroke and is now "awake and alert".

"As a result of his heart condition, acutely, and the stroke, he was put on a ventilator to help him breathe during his hospitalisation. He remains on that, but we are decreasing that support daily," Dr. Gary Erwin said in a video statement.

"He is breathing spontaneously with the help of the ventilator and hope to have him weaned off of that very soon breathing completely on his own."

The singer has been "interacting" with his family and friends and has started the first stages of physical therapy.

It is thought that the star will stay in hospital for around two or three more weeks, before being transferred to another establishment to receive care.

Randy's fiancée Mary Davis has thanked fans for their support and explained Randy is doing better than anyone expected.