by Kandiss Edwards
March 28, 2025
Bishop T.D. Jakes returned to the pulpit on New Years Eve and is now speaking out about what caused his medical emergency.
Bishop T.D. Jakes revealed he suffered a massive heart attack during a medical emergency in November 2024.
The megachurch pastor sat down to discuss his diagnosis, treatment, and how his life is forever changed. Jakes said he was initially unaware of his condition. There were no signs of a medical crisis, yet doctors informed him he had experienced a massive heart attack.
“I didn’t really realize what was happening to me onstage until I got to the hospital in an ambulance and was fussing that it happened onstage, by the way, because I didn’t want it to happen, and the doctor leaned over my ear and said, ‘You had a massive heart attack,’” Jakes said.
Jakes credits being on stage at his church, The Potter’s House, as one of the factors that saved his life. Being surrounded by parishioners allowed him to be attended to immediately. He says the adrenaline he used to preach kept him alive, even as the right side of his heart was shutting down.
“As long as I was up preaching, I felt fine,” he said. “But when I sat down, the adrenaline dropped, and it exposed the fact that I was preaching with half of my heart closed through a clot. And they had to go get it.”
The Woman Thou Art Loosed founder spoke to his congregants via video in December. While expressing the need to rest and recover, he thanked his parishioners. Besides feeling cocooned in peace, Jakes said he “felt every prayer” sent his way.
As a veteran preacher and teacher, Jakes says in the moment he was dedicated to continuing his service.
“They had to claw the microphone out of my hand. I read a book, ‘Don’t Drop The Mic,’ so I didn’t want to go out like that.”
It is safe to say Jakes, indeed, did not “go out like that.” The 40-plus-year veteran returned to the Potter’s House pulpit on New Year’s Eve to the joy of his millions of followers.
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