Drew Carey, the 67-year-old host of "The Price Is Right," recently revealed that he ignored classic heart attack symptoms for more than a day before finally seeking emergency treatment back in 2001.​

Carey shared the story on Ted Danson's podcast, "Where Everybody Knows Your Name," on Wednesday. At the time, he was starring in his hit ABC sitcom, "The Drew Carey Show," and was significantly overweight. He decided to start jogging to lose some weight before returning to tape new episodes.

While running in his neighborhood with a chest heart rate monitor, Carey noticed his heart rate spike to around 160 beats per minute. He also felt numbness in his shoulder, according to Entertainment Weekly.

Despite experiencing textbook heart attack symptoms, he dismissed them because the experience did not match what he had seen in cartoons. "I thought if you had a heart attack, you would go 'ugh' and fall over like in a cartoon," he said.​

When he slowed down, his heart rate dropped, but it spiked again every time he tried to jog. Rather than calling a doctor, Carey walked home, called his girlfriend, and told her he had experienced "heart attack-like symptoms". He then went out to eat chili spaghetti at Bob's Big Boy in Burbank and told her he would see a doctor the next morning.

The following day was the first day back on set for a special stunt episode. Carey never called a doctor and went straight to rehearsal. After the rehearsal ended, he felt tightness in his chest again.

He excused himself to his trailer, and when he struggled to walk up the stairs, he knew something was seriously wrong. He called the show's producer and said, "You have to call the ambulance. I think I'm having a heart attack," Fox News reported.

Carey also called his close friend, the late Sam Simon, co-developer of "The Simpsons," because he wanted to see him before heading to the hospital. Doctors performed a coronary angioplasty and inserted a stent after discovering his artery was 95% blocked.

The health scare eventually led Carey to overhaul his lifestyle. He said he used to eat steak, bread, loaded mashed potatoes, beers, and dessert while leaving vegetables untouched.

Now, he eats steak with vegetables, skips potatoes and bread, drinks only water, and no longer consumes alcohol. He was later diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, which further motivated him to lose 80 pounds, as per Yahoo News.

Tags
Heart attack, The price is right