1 / 10
The host of 'The Late Show With David Letterman' never missed a single show for seven years at CBS, but in January 2000, at the age of 52, he had to undergo quintuple bypass surgery. He returned to the show five weeks later, joking in his opening monologue, "Wait 'til you hear what happened to me." It's interesting to note that Letterman's father also died of a heart attack in his 50s.
2 / 10
In 2008, Kelsey Grammer had a heart attack, and his heart stopped. He told 'Entertainment Tonight' that it felt like someone was trying to tear his chest apart with something like the jaws of life.
3 / 10
Kevin Smith, who directed 'Clerks,' had a heart attack in 2018. He said it was the best thing that happened to him because it motivated him to change his lifestyle. After the heart attack, he started eating a plant-based diet and lost weight.
4 / 10
Larry King had a heart attack in 1987, and he connected it to his many years of smoking during a 2014 interview. He mentioned, "I smoked from age 16 to age 54, and I never thought I could stop until that heart attack. I've never smoked since."
5 / 10
At the age of 50 in August 2012, comedian Rosie O'Donnell suffered a heart attack. She unknowingly saved her life by taking aspirin, a blood thinner. In a blog post a week later, she encouraged other women not to ignore symptoms. Even though she experienced many symptoms, like nausea and clammy skin, she initially thought otherwise. It wasn't until she saw a cardiologist the next day that an EKG revealed her LAD (left anterior descending artery) "was 99% blocked," leading to immediate surgery to insert a stent. She emphasized, "Know the symptoms, ladies. Listen to the voice inside."
6 / 10
At the age of 42, John Mellencamp had a heart attack. Surprisingly, he didn't quit his chain smoking habit for many years afterward because he believed it actually helped his singing voice.
7 / 10
David Bowie stopped touring after suffering a heart attack in 2004. He underwent heart surgery and then focused on making music. He kept recording music until he passed away in 2016 due to cancer.
8 / 10
Alex Trebek,
'The Jeopardy!' host has survived two minor heart attacks, his first in December 2007 at age 67. In June 2012, he nearly ignored a squeezing pain after a DIY home improvement project but took aspirin, then went to the hospital at his wife’s insistence. Though he didn’t need surgery, he was told he suffered another minor heart attack. “Maybe I’ll take a little better care of myself,” Trebek, then 71, joked to 'People' at the time, “but I wouldn’t count on it.”
9 / 10
In the fall of 2018, soap opera star Susan Lucci reluctantly went to the hospital after experiencing chest pain that she nearly ignored. Once she was there, doctors found two blocked arteries and Lucci, then 71, underwent emergency surgery. She explained, "For me it’s DNA. My dad had calcium blockage in his arteries when he was 49, but my dad was a smoker, so I never made the connection that I might have the same thing because I’m not a smoker at all."
10 / 10
In May 2010, at the age of 80, the renowned journalist Barbara Walters underwent a planned aortic valve replacement. Walters explained on 'The View' that an echocardiogram showed her valves were "getting tighter and smaller." She returned to hosting duties four months post-operation, later remarking, "What was difficult was deciding how much I had to share personally. Even on 'The View', I don't delve into my private life."
Heart attacks can happen to anyone at any time irrespective of age, gender. Even celebrities who follow rigorous fitness routines have faced cardiac arrest.
Several celebrities who faced heart attack had to make significant lifestyle changes. For example, David Bowie ended his touring career after he faced heart attack in 2004. Here's a list of celebrities who have helped to spread awareness by sharing their inspiring survival stories.
