Veteran sports promoter Barry Hearn suffered a heart attack during Leyton Orient's play-off semi-final against Stockport in May, his son Eddie has revealed.
The 77-year-old experienced discomfort just five minutes into the match and was taken to hospital.
Despite the medical emergency resulting in his third stent being fitted, Hearn made an astonishing recovery. Within days, he was back attending sporting events and playing cricket.
The incident occurred during Orient's first-leg clash, but Hearn's determination to maintain his active lifestyle saw him refuse to let the health scare slow him down.
Veteran sports promoter Barry Hearn suffered a heart attack during Leyton Orient's play-off semi-final against Stockport in May, his son Eddie has revealed
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His rapid return to public appearances demonstrated his resilience and commitment to living life to the fullest.
The snooker supremo had to have a third stent installed, having previously suffered two heart attacks. His son Eddie, chief of Matchroom Sport, shared details of the frightening ordeal.
"He's fine. Obviously it's always very scary, that kind of thing. It was at the Orient match. It will do that to you, Leyton Orient," Eddie told Boxing Social.
Barry and Eddie Hearn are big names in the world of sport
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"Five minutes in and he said 'I'll just see out the game'. Unfortunately he had to go down to the doctors and get taken to hospital, he had a heart attack."
Following the procedure on Monday, Hearn was discharged from hospital on Tuesday.
His insistence on attending the Johnny Fisher versus Dave Allen boxing match just days later sparked concern from his family.
Hearn attended the boxing match at East London's Copper Box Arena just five days after his heart attack, witnessing Dave Allen's spectacular knockout victory over Johnny Fisher.
"So I'm like 'right, well you won't be coming to the Johnny Fisher fight'. He says 'no I'm f***ing coming to the Johnny Fisher fight'," Eddie recalled.
"No, what are you doing? 'I'm not missing the Johnny Fisher fight!' I said 'dad, chill out'. He goes 'I'm not living my life like that, I've had a new stent, I'm brand new.'"
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The veteran promoter also returned to the cricket pitch, scoring 60 runs for Essex Over-70s at the weekend following his hospital discharge.
Eddie reflected on his father's approach to life, acknowledging the uncertainty that comes with his age and health conditions.
"That's what you're dealing with. When he goes, he's actually 77 today, my dad, it could be next week, or it could be in 10 years, you just never know when your time's up," Eddie said.
Barry Hearn suffered the heart attack during Leyton Orient's match with Stockport
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"But you will be able to say he lived to the absolute max of his life. And that's a great thing to be able to say."
Hearn had previously spoken about the impact Orient matches have on his health, saying before the play-off final that the club's 2014 defeat to Rotherham had left him needing therapy.
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