Jean Smart went straight from Hacks set to hospital for heart surgery
Hollywood veteran Jean Smart has revealed she ignored her doctor's advice to go straight to the emergency room when she was suffering chest pain - admitting she finished filming a scene for her TV show Hacks and then went straight to the hospital for heart surgery.
Jean Smart ignored her doctor's advice by finishing filming on Hacks before going to hospital for heart surgery.
The Hollywood veteran, 74, has revealed she started feeling unwell while working on the third season of her hit TV show - revealing she was battling chest pressure and fatigue but put it down to being out of shape - and she didn't listen to her cardiologist who told her to go straight to the emergency room.
She told Variety: "I was feeling a little tired. But I didn’t think anything of it. I had gotten used to feeling a little pressure, like if I’d go up a couple of flights of stairs. But it would always just go away.
"And I would always think: 'Jean, you’re in such c***** shape.’ It didn’t ever occur to me that it might be anything other than the fact that I needed to exercise more."
However, she did eventually call her cardiologist who urged her to seek help immediately, but Jean decided to keep filming and headed to the hospital after work where she was told she needed to undergo triple bypass surgery.
She explained: "I left her [my cardiologist] a message, since it was after hours. I said: 'I know I probably can’t get in to see you this week, but maybe I should do a stress test or something.' Her service called back instantly and said: 'Yeah, you’re gonna go to the nearest emergency room right now!'"
Jean lost her husband Richard Gilliland in 2021 and she didn't want to worry her children so soon after the death of their father so she didn't have any family at the hospital with her but she was supported by Hacks co-creator and co-star Paul W. Downs.
He told the publication: "I often wonder how much Jean remembers, because it was so stressful. Her children had just lost their father, and I think she didn’t want to scare them, so they weren’t there.
"Obviously her husband wasn’t there. I think she was waiting for her brother to fly in. And so I was there with her as she was talking to surgeons and hearing them say: 'You can’t get a stent. You have to get a triple bypass'."
After being told she needed heart surgery, Jean insisted she wasn't scared until the following day when she started thinking about the operation.
She said: "I wasn’t really scared until I woke up the next day, and I’m thinking about what they had to do. You start to feel so fragile."
Jean went public with her health crisis in February 2023 when she revealed she was recovering after undergoing a "heart procedure".
In a post on Instagram, she wrote: "February is American Heart Month – a time when the nation spotlights heart health, so it feels important to share with all of you that I am recovering from a recent successful heart procedure.
"I am fortunate to have excellent care and support from family and friends while I continue to recuperate. Please listen to your body and talk to your doctor - I'm very glad I did!"
Filming on Hacks was paused to give Jean a chance to recover and she later returned to finish work on season three.
