Chevy Chase's Near-Fatal Heart Failure and Recovery Revealed in Documentary
The documentary I’m Chevy Chase and You’re Not reveals that Chevy Chase suffered near-fatal heart failure during the Covid pandemic in 2021, with doctors telling his family to prepare for the worst. He was placed in an induced coma for eight days and spent about five weeks in hospital in total. Doctors linked the condition to cardiomyopathy from years of heavy drinking, which weakened his heart muscles and reduced blood output. After waking, Chase could only use his voice, and his daughter Caley said he had basically come back from the dead. Since the hospitalization, Chase has memory problems and cannot recall some past on-set and backstage controversies, including a fistfight with Bill Murray in a Saturday Night Live dressing room. He was also upset about not being asked to appear onstage at the 50th anniversary SNL special earlier in 2025, despite being in attendance. The film notes his earlier near-fatal accident in 1980 when he was electrocuted on the set of Modern Problems, which contributed to a period of depression.
