Jason Gray-Stanford Shares Harrowing Battle With Heart Failure

Jason Gray-Stanford says he feels “lucky” to be alive after a battle with heart failure.

In a personal essay published by Today on Feb. 25, the Monk alum detailed the harrowing experience and how he “likely could have only lived a few more weeks” if he had not received a heart transplant in November 2020. According to the 51-year-old, the entire ordeal first began in 2018, when he noticed that his heart was “beating oddly” while filming in Vancouver, Canada, and went to the emergency room for treatment.

Shortly after, Jason was diagnosed with a blood clot and stage 1 heart failure, a condition that occurs when the heart is not pumping blood as well as it should. “I grappled with the diagnosis and also denied it,” he recalled, noting that he immediately started medication. “It felt impossible that I was so sick.”

Although Jason said his health “remained stable” for a while due to the medicine, things took a turn in December 2019 when he blacked out in the middle of a spin class.