Rosie O'Donnell is crediting an aspirin commercial and internet research for her survival of a heart attack. INSIDE EDITION has the latest.
Rosie O'Donnell is recovering at home today, saying she's "happy to be alive" after suffering a heart attack.
O'Donnell says she saved her own life by searching the internet for her symptoms and coming upon a Bayer aspirin commercial.
She wrote on her blog: "Thank God. Saved by a TV commerical—literally."
O'Donnell only decided to go to a cardiologist the next day. An EKG was performed and she was immediately sent to the hospital. Her coronary artery was found to be 99% blocked. A stent was inserted to clear the blockage.
"They call this type of heart attack 'the widow maker.' I am lucky to be here," she wrote on her blog.
INSIDE EDITION's Megan Alexander spoke with ABC News' Chief Medical Editor Dr. Richard Besser and asked, "What did Rosie do right?"
"She did a number of things right. She thought she might be having a heart attack and she chewed an aspirin. You want to chew it because it will get into your system faster and can prevent a small clot from becoming a big clot," said Besser.
"And what did Rosie do wrong?" asked Alexander.
"She thought she might be having a heart attack. But instead of calling 911 and going to the hospital, she decided to go to bed and see how she was doing the next day," said Besser.
It's been a stressful time for O'Donnell. This spring, her short lived talk show on the Oprah Winfrey Network was cancelled. And earlier this month, she shared the news that her fiancée, Michelle Rounds had been diagnosed with a rare, cancer-like disease.
O'Donnell says her symptoms first appeared after she was relaxing in a park near her home in Nyack outside New York City. She says she stopped to help a heavyset woman who was having trouble getting out of her car.
O'Donnell said, "I heard a loud commanding voice, 'Can u help me?' I braced myself and lifted her. It was not easy. A few hours later my body hurt. I had an ache in my chest. Both my arms were sore. I thought strained or pulled tissue. The pain persisted. I became nauseous. My skin was clammy. I was very hot. I threw up."
She recalled how she thought, "maybe this is a heart attack."
Doctors say 200,000 women die each year of heart attacks in the U.S. "By some miracle, I was not one of them," O'Donnell wrote.
Dr. Besser said, "People tend to think of heart attacks and heart disease as a man's disease, but it's just as common among women.' "
O'Donnell looked happy but a little tired in a photo she tweeted of herself today along with this message to her fans: "Thanks for all the good wishes!"
She also posted a photo of a box of Grape Nuts cereal that is high in fiber and good for your heart.
And there's this surprising twist...O'Donnell's longtime nemisis, Donald Trump just tweeted this get well message: "Rosie get better fast. I'm starting to miss you!"
To which O'Donnell replied: "Well thank u Donald. I must admit ur post was a bit of a shock ... R U trying to kill me?"
