Kelsey Grammar, 53, was hanging out in Hawaii paddle boating with his wife when he suffered a heart attack. It’s been nearly three months and he’s talking about his health crisis and why he thinks he had a heart attack at a relatively young age. Although Grammar’s representative told the press at the time that his heart attack was mild, he admitted to Entertainment Tonight a few weeks afterward that he had almost died and that his heart had stopped entirely. [via Wikipedia]

Grammar explains that he thinks he suffered the health crisis due to stress over his television series, Back to You with Patricia Heaton, being canceled. As for how he’s coping now, he said he’s taking it easy and is eating better and taking medication:

Kelsey Grammer, who suffered a mild heart attack seven weeks ago, says pressure from his canceled sitcom Back to You contributed to his health problems.

“It was a very stressful time for me, and a surprise to me [that it was canceled],” Grammer, 53, said Wednesday while promoting his drama-comedy, Swing Vote, in L.A. “But you know, everything that doesn’t kill us – which it almost did – makes us stronger.”

Back to You, costarring Patricia Heaton, was canceled in May by Fox after one year, despite respectable ratings.

“Not happy about it,” says Grammer. “I had a heart attack, maybe you heard. I was not happy about it.”

But now, he says, “I think things are going to be fine, thank you. I’m doing fine. It’s OK.”

Asked if the health scare changed his lifestyle, Grammer said, “Oh, not a ton. Just watch your diet a little bit, take some pills.”

A sitcom veteran who has Cheers and Frasier to his credit, Grammer plans to take more time out for family, and is thinking about films.

“Oh gosh, I hope so,” he said. “You can only do so many a year. I have other things that matter to me, like my wife and family.”

[From People.com]

Grammar and Heaton were widely reported to be feuding on the set of Back to You, and that may have contributed to the demise of the series. He is not my favorite actor and seems like he has a stick up his butt most of the time, but there’s a valuable lesson in his comments about why he had a heart attack. Tim Russert died at 58 from a heart attack at a time when he was eating better and exercising and had just returned from a vacation to Italy with his family.

Heart attacks are “are the leading cause of death for both men and women all over the world” according to the World Health Organization. You can prevent a heart attack through regular exercise, a healthy diet, and by keeping stress at a minimum. It’s important to keep perspective about what’s important in life and not worry too much about work and the things you can’t change. Years of stress can really take a toll on your heart and no matter how old you are or if you’re a man or a woman you should try to reach a healthy balance in life. I know that’s a lesson I need to learn too.

Picture note by JayBird: Here’s Kelsey Grammer and his wife Camille out shopping at Cross Creek in Malibu, last Thursday. The funny man can still put a smile on his wife’s face. CR: Mike/Fame Pictures Images thanks to Fame.