Country Star Phil Vassar Reveals He Died Twice After Heart Attack and Stroke: ‘No Heartbeat at All’

The singer-songwriter experienced the medical emergency in early 2023

Phil Vassar is opening up about experiencing a heart attack and stroke which he says caused him to die twice.

In a new interview with Taste of Country published on Thursday, Aug. 8, Vassar, 62, recounted the serious medical emergency, which occurred in early 2023.

The singer-songwriter said that when the heart attack happened, he hadn't been feeling well leading up to it while doing a Christmas tour with Deana Carter. He also doesn't "remember any of it" and attributed the medical emergency to a hereditary condition.

"I just had genetic heart disease," he said. "I wasn't a drinker and a partier, or any of that. I worked out every day. You know, I kept feeling bad so I kept really concentrating on my health and trying to — I never ate anything fried or anything like that. Never did. It just caught up with me, you know, the genes."

The heart attack occurred when Vassar was at home, and someone was around to call 911. When the medics arrived, he was shocked "11 times and cracked some ribs."

"They did a heck of a job getting me back," Vassar noted.

Vassar added that he had a stroke three days after the heart attack occurred while he was in the hospital.

"They iced me down and they said I was going, 'Why was it so cold?' Cause you're on ice, you know," he recalled. "So it was a weird thing, but I dropped dead. I was dead for 30 minutes a couple of times — died. No heartbeat. No heartbeat at all."

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The musician said that people have asked him what it was like dying, but he mostly remembers not feeling well and being tired all the time.

Since recovering, Vassar has gone back on tour and done 100 shows.

"Thank goodness for medicine," he said of his rebound following his health crisis.

Related: Just Weeks After His Death, Toby Keith Is Headed into the Country Music Hall of Fame

Earlier this year, Vassar spoke exclusively to PEOPLE about his collaboration with Jeffrey Steele called "Hillbillies in Hollywood." This was his first music release following the heart attack.

“When you go through something as life-changing as a heart attack, you become more introspective and sentimental," he said in February. “I want to put out music that reflects that."

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He added: “I have a lot of energy and a brand-new outlook on life that I'm bringing on the road and I am ready to throw down.”

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