Denise Warner, 57, attributes her survival from a heart attack to comedian Rosie O’Donnell. A resident of London, Warner experienced a cardiac event last year, initially dismissing unusual symptoms.
“Last May, while watching TV, my arms and hands began to tingle,” Warner recalled in an interview with Newsweek. “I thought it was carpal tunnel and ignored it.” The strange feeling persisted, leading Warner to feel her chest tightening as though in a vice. Despite lacking severe pain and breathlessness, she felt hot and suddenly vomited, which brought back memories of O’Donnell’s warning.
“That was the moment I remembered Rosie O’Donnell talking about HEPPP,” she said.
Rosie O’Donnell, who suffered a heart attack in 2012 at age 50, shared her experiences in comedy specials and on social media to educate others. She used the acronym HEPPP, representing Hot, Exhausted, Pain, Pale, and Puke, to outline women’s heart attack symptoms.
Warner had seen O’Donnell discuss this and recognized the symptoms when she experienced nausea without prior warning. She alerted her wife, Jem, and rushed to the hospital, where doctors confirmed a significant cardiac incident had occurred.
Following an angioplasty to open her arteries, Warner shared her story with medical professionals, crediting O’Donnell’s acronym for helping her act quickly. “When I first watched the comedy special, I didn’t pay too much attention,” she admitted. “But that night, when I threw up, I knew my symptoms weren’t of a panic attack.”
She acknowledged that without recalling O’Donnell’s message, she would have dismissed the symptoms. Common heart attack signs include chest discomfort, pain spreading to the jaw, shoulders, arms, or back, as well as dizziness, nausea, and excessive sweating, per the Cleveland Clinic.
In her stand-up, “A Heartfelt Stand Up,” O’Donnell humorously highlighted HEPPP, including a mnemonic song, urging women to recognize heart attack signs. Warner shared her gratitude with O’Donnell via social media, receiving an immediate and supportive response. “She said she’ll never get tired of hearing it,” Warner shared. “Rosie was delighted about the outcome and wished me well.”
Warner described O’Donnell as “open, honest, transparent, and kind”—expressing happiness and gratitude for being alive.