The actor sought treatment twice in the same night

On By Littum

The Emmy-winning actor has the heart disease atrial fibrillation.

When it comes to looking after his health, Sean Hayes knows the drill.

The Emmy-winning actor, who has the heart condition atrial fibrillation, opened up about a few recent hospital visits during Monday’s episode of “Smartless” podcastwhich he co-hosts with Jason Bateman and Will Arnett.

The heart condition, which is caused by an “irregular and often very rapid heartbeat,” can lead to blood clots in the heart and increase a person’s risk of stroke or heart failure, according to Mayo Clinic. “You feel like you’re going to die,” Hayes previously said about his accelerated heartbeat.

The topic came up during the podcast hosts’ conversation with actor Hugh Grant, who complained about the exhaustion he felt from a recent case of jet lag. “I woke up hours ago very, very hungry and it felt like my heart was made of Play-Doh,” he said.

Arnett went on to tell Grant that Hayes, 54, drove himself to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles after waking up in the middle of the night with a “heart problem.”

“They brought the paddles out. They put him under. They paddled him. He drove home,” Arnett said. “An hour later he woke up to use the bathroom again and drove himself back to Cedars and was paddled again.”

The medical episode apparently didn’t faze Hayes, who added that he and his husband, composer Scott Icenogle, went out to dinner the following night.

During an interview in 2021 d “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”Hayes joked about his frequent hospitalizations and the expertise he’s gained along the way.

“When I go to the ER, I’m like Norm from ‘Cheers.’ They’re like ‘Sean!’ because I’m in there all the time,” Hayes said. “They say, ‘Can I check on you?’ And I say, ‘Look, this is how you’re going to give me Propofol to go home.’ Because it zaps you back into regular rhythm.”