EXCLUSIVE: Drew Carey Death Scare — How Comic Nearly Paid Ultimate Price for Ignoring Symptoms of Heart Attack That Almost Killed Him
Drew Carey's death scare has revealed how he ignored heart attack symptoms that nearly cost him his life.
March 27 2026, Published 8:00 a.m. ET
Overweight meat-and-potatoes guy Drew Carey was a heart attack waiting to happen – and when it did, he ignored the symptoms, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
"I thought if you had a heart attack, you would go 'ugh' and fall down like a cartoon," said the Price is Right host, 67.
Drew Carey Ignored Heart Attack Symptoms
Drew Carey admitted he ignored 'heart attack symptoms' while jogging in 2001.
But that's not what happened in 2001 while Carey was jogging in a bid to slim down.
"I had a little chest monitor and I was jogging down my street and my heart rate went up to like 160 or something like that, like really crazy, and I was like, 'Oh,' and I felt like numb in my shoulder," he recalled.
Now he realizes he was experiencing "all the things that I read were heart attack symptoms."
But he just thought, "Oh, that's really worrisome. Let me slow down."
He did, but his heart rate continued to shoot up and down.
Carey said he walked home, ordered chili spaghetti for dinner and promised his then-girlfriend he'd call a doctor the next day at work on The Drew Carey Show.
Back on set, "I didn't call the doctor and I did rehearsal and I felt OK," he said.
Carey Rushed to Hospital After Collapse
Carey recalled telling a producer, 'Call the ambulance, I think I'm having a heart attack.'
But after rehearsal, chest pains slammed him again.
"I went, 'Oh, I'll be right back. Let me go to the trailer and call the doctor,'" Carey recalled. "When I went to step up the stairs to my trailer, I really went like, 'Oh boy, that was rough.' And I got on the phone to the producer. I said, 'Hey, you have to call the ambulance. I think I'm having a heart attack.'"
Terrified, Carey called a pal to say goodbye.
"I go, 'Hey man, I don't know what's happening, but I'm on my way to the hospital,'" he recalled.
Carey was hospitalized overnight and doctors inserted a stent to clear a blocked artery.
Carey Transforms Lifestyle After Health Scare
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After surgery, Carey said he felt 'weak as a kitten' during recovery.
"The next day I was weak as a kitten," he recalled.
Since then, Carey has quit drinking, cut back on carbs and sweets, and started eating vegetables, saying: "When I'm eating, like a salad that has green beans and stuff in it, I'm like, 'Man, 20 years ago, 25 years ago, I wouldn't have touched this.'"
