GLENDALE (CNS) - Actor-director Kevin Smith is hospitalized in Glendale today after suffering a massive heart attack.
The 47-year-old Smith reported his own heart attack and survival over various social media outlets, including Twitter and Instagram.
The actor-director wrote that he started feeling nauseous Sunday night between performances of his comedy show at the Alex Theatre in Glendale, where, he says, he ``started sweating buckets.''
``I was trying to do a killer standup special this evening but I might've gone too far. After the first show, I felt kinda nauseous. I threw up a little but it didn't seem to help. Then I started sweating buckets and my chest felt heavy. Turns out I had a massive heart attack,'' he wrote on Instagram in a post accompanied by a photo of himself in a hospital gown and various tubes around his neck.
Smith was taken to a Glendale hospital where he says he was told he had suffered a ``Widow-Maker''-style heart attack with a 100 percent blockage of his left anterior descending artery. He said doctors placed a stent in the blocked artery, saving his life.
``If I hadn't canceled the second show to go to the hospital, the doc said I would've died tonight,'' Smith wrote. ``For now, I'm still above ground!''
In his social media post, Smith said he faced the prospect of death with ``a sense of calm,'' buoyed by the realization that he ``had a great life: loved by parents who raised me to become the individual I am. I've had a weird, wonderful career in all sorts of media, amazing friends, the best wife in the world and an incredible daughter who made me a Dad.''
He also mentioned the characters he has played in numerous movies, including ``Clerks,'' ``Chasing Amy,'' ``Mallrats'' and ``Scream 3.''
``This is all a part of my mythology now and I'm sure I'll be facing some life changes -- maybe it's time to go vegan,'' he wrote. ``But the point of this post is to tell you that I faced my greatest fear tonight, and it wasn't as bas as I've always imagined it'd be. I don't want my life to end but if it ends, I can't complain. It was such a gift.''