Three months after his wife Beth passed away due to cancer, Duane Chapman aka “Dog The Bounty Hunter” has been diagnosed with Pulmonary Embolism, a serious heart condition.
Chapman was taken to the hospital after having chest pain around mid-September, TMZ reported.
In an interview on The Dr. Oz Show, the 66-year-old reality star was told that he has pulmonary embolism, a condition where a “blood clot gets caught in one of the arteries that go from the heart to the lungs,” according to WebMD.
“This blockage can cause serious problems, like damage to your lungs and low oxygen levels in your blood. The lack of oxygen can harm other organs in your body, too. If the clot is big or the artery is clogged by many smaller clots, a pulmonary embolism can be fatal,” reads WebMD.
Dr. Oz had serious words to tell Chapman during the interview: “You’re a ticking time bomb. You’re not going to be here with the heart the way it is right now. Fear of death is normal. I’m surprised you don’t fear death when you’re chasing after convicts. But when you run away from doctor, that means you have to do your own doctoring.”
Dr. Oz told People that Chapman was “denying care that he knew would be life saving.”
“[Duane] was fearful,” Dr. Oz said. “Beth had been his north star. She was the one that would go with him and keep him balanced so he could deal with these things. Losing her took away his biggest support.”
“I said, ‘What would Beth do,’” Dr. Oz said. “What would she say to you? I don’t think she’d be happy with what you’re doing. ‘You’re throwing away your life, you’re throwing away your ability to parent your kids. You have to man up.’ That’s what she would say.”
Chapman continued the interview, “All the time I stick my foot in my mouth. I said after Beth left, ‘I’m not afraid to die,’ oh I was afraid to die, I said ‘Please let go of my heart honey, quit squeezing my heart.’”
Chapman was interviewed by Fox 31 on Sep. 18, where he said that he was going through some “psychological things” and that he had a broken heart, but that he will be fine.
“It feels much better now. And I’m going through some psychological things right now too, so that doesn’t help,” Chapman told KDVR, “I think, basically, I had a broken heart. And of course, it’s going to heal.”
