Duane “Dog the Bounty Hunter” Chapmanis opening up about his recent medical scare.
In September, three months after his wifeBeth diedfollowing a battle with cancer, theDog’s Most Wantedstar, 66, washospitalized for chest pains.
“I thought I had a heart attack,” he tellsPEOPLE Nowof the experience. “I’m like, ‘Beth, please quit squeezing my heart, please.’ I thought it was it.”
However, even though he checked into the hospital, he almost walked away before doctors were able to help him.
“I went to the hospital and they were kind of rude so I checked out. ThenDr. Ozcame to me and said, ‘What are you doing? You’re crazy. Come back.’ So I did,” he said. “You got to do what Dr. Oz says.”
“They found on the right lung a blood clot,” he adds. “It was scary.”
Frazer Harrison/Getty Images
The television star, who is now on blood thinners as he continues his road to recovery, went on to share that his health will likely put an end to hunting down bad guys — at least for now.
“I’m supposed to relax and not run down someone,” he tellsPEOPLE Now, noting, “I probably couldn’t even because you can feel it.”
As to how he’s doing, the reality star says he just feels “a little tired.”
“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,” he added.
Duane Chapman and Dr. Oz.Zoco Productions LLC/ Martin D. Toub
Speaking to PEOPLE after the diagnosis, Dr. Oz said Chapman was “denying care that he knew would be life saving.”
“[Duane] was fearful,” he revealed. “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.”
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“I hesitated for a minute thinking, I don’t want to have to go through this again,” Chapman previously told PEOPLE. “I don’t want to die right now. I’m not afraid to die anymore, but I really didn’t care for awhile if something would happen. I do care now.”
Dog’s Most Wantedairs Wednesdays (9 p.m. ET) on WGN America.
source: people.com
