Bishop T.D. Jakes Reveals He Suffered a Massive Heart Attack During Live Sermon
Bishop T.D. Jakes is opening up about the terrifying health scare that unfolded in real-time during a sermon last November—revealing for the first time that he suffered a “massive heart attack.”
On Nov. 24, 2024, the popular pastor was in the middle of preaching at The Potter’s House in Dallas, TX when he suddenly slumped over on his stool in front of his congregation and livestream viewers. The scene quickly turned frantic as people rushed to his aid.
“I didn’t really realize what was happening to me onstage until I got to the hospital in an ambulance,” the 67-year-old explained during a candid interview on the Wednesday (March 26) episode of the “Today” show. “And the doctor leaned over in my ear and said, ‘You’ve had a massive heart attack.’”
The news came as a shock even to Jakes, who said he hadn’t felt the classic warning signs. “I just kind of drifted off to sleep. I didn’t know what it was,” he said. “[The doctor] said five minutes later I’d have been dead on arrival.”
Jakes explained that the right side of his heart had “completely stopped giving blood,” and while he felt fine standing, things shifted when he sat down. “The adrenaline dropped and it exposed the fact that I was preaching with half of my heart closed with a clot.”
Elsewhere, Jakes revealed that he underwent emergency surgery—and was conscious the entire time. “The surgeons were operating while I was awake. They never put me to sleep,” he shared. “Technology, it’s amazing.”
Though he's seen footage of the moment he collapsed, the Bishop said he felt detached from what the video shows. “They had to claw the microphone out of my hand,” he said. “But in my mind I was in a quiet, peaceful, serene, white-enveloped, cloud-enveloped space. I was on my way out.”
As a man of deep faith, Jakes described the experience as spiritual. “It was such a privilege to stand on the other side… I think it was absolutely amazing.” He also credited prayers from around the world for pulling him through. “Even people who didn’t go to my church — people everywhere sending prayers. I’m so thankful.”
Today, Jakes is back in the pulpit, preaching with a renewed sense of purpose and gratitude.
