Bob Odenkirk Says He Should've Listened to 'Cranky Conservative' Doctor Before Heart Attack

While speaking on the Don't Ask Tig podcast with Tig Notaro, the actor opened up about his health scare.

"When I was 50, I went in, he was a heart doctor, Cedar-Sinai, and he had signs up all around his office at this point [saying] 'We do not accept Obamacare,' and I hated this side of him that I only learned over time," said the actor.

Odenkirk added that the doctor suggested that he take statins to help lower his cholesterol, but Odenkirk didn't listen.

"And I said, 'Well, I don't know. I don't have heart disease in my family.' He goes, 'Just take 'em," said Odenkirk, who sought an opinion from another doctor who said, "You don't need medicine yet."

"And I had a heart attack," continued the actor. "And I think the first doctor was right."

"The cranky conservative jackass was right, because he was a good doctor," concluded the actor.

"His political point of view doesn't have anything to do with his ability to judge your health and your health choices and needs."

Odenkirk suffered a heart attack in July 2021 on the set of Better Call Saul.

The actor opened up about the incident in an interview with the New York Times, where Odenkirk said he went to a rest area where he often hung out with his co-stars Rhea Seehorn and Patrick Fabian. It was here that he suddenly collapsed.

"Rhea said I started turning bluish-gray right away," Odenkirk told the outlet.

Thankfully, they were on hand to get a speedy response from the show's medical team who quickly began performing CPR and even had a defibrillator on hand. It took three shocks before, as Odenkirk put it, "it got me that rhythm back."

The actor explained that he'd actually known about a plaque buildup in his heart since 2018. but he listened to the aforementioned doctor who said he could wait to start medication.

Odenkirk tweeted out thanks for all the love and support he'd gotten, crediting the doctors "who knew how to fix the blockage without surgery." He was out for the next two months, returning to the set in September to continue filming.