John Ritter’s widow reveals the medical mistake she says cost the beloved actor his life

BS BULLETIN:

John Ritter’s widow, Amy Yasbeck, is again sounding the alarm about the aortic dissection that killed the “Three’s Company” star at just 54.
Ritter was initially treated for a suspected heart attack before doctors discovered the tear in his aorta.
Yasbeck says recognizing the condition — and knowing your family history — could save lives.

More than two decades after John Ritter’s sudden death stunned Hollywood, his widow is explaining the medical diagnosis she says went tragically wrong.

Amy Yasbeck is using Aortic Dissection Awareness Week — and what would have been Ritter’s 78th birthday — to draw new attention to the condition that killed the beloved “Three’s Company” and “8 Simple Rules” star.

Remembering John Ritter on his birthday 🕊️ pic.twitter.com/KkWa888ECi

— CoveredGeekly (@CoveredGeekly) September 17, 2026

Ritter became ill while working on the set of “8 Simple Rules” on Sept. 11, 2003. He was taken to Providence St. Joseph Medical Center in Burbank, California, where doctors initially believed he was suffering a heart attack.

He was actually experiencing an aortic dissection — a tear in the inner layer of the aorta. Ritter died that night at 54.

Yasbeck said in a new interview that the distinction is critical because treatment appropriate for a heart attack can be dangerous for someone suffering an aortic dissection.

The John Ritter Foundation for Aortic Health, which Yasbeck established following her husband’s death, warns that an aortic dissection can mimic a heart attack and says the condition should be considered when a heart attack or another diagnosis has not been clearly established.

Thrilled to be a part of this! https://t.co/w0IErfpN8K

— JohnRitterFoundation (@JohnRitterFdn) September 17, 2026

Ritter’s family later filed a wrongful-death lawsuit alleging that failures to recognize his condition deprived doctors of the opportunity to perform potentially lifesaving surgery.

The legal history is more complicated than the family’s claim, however. In 2008, a jury cleared cardiologist Dr. Joseph Lee and radiologist Dr. Matthew Lotysch of negligence. The hospital and several other medical personnel had previously reached settlements with Ritter’s family totaling $14 million.

Yasbeck has since turned the tragedy into a campaign to make people aware of the warning signs and the potential genetic component of aortic disease. Ritter’s brother Tom was subsequently found to have an enlarged aorta and underwent surgery, while Ritter’s children are monitored because of their family history.

The timing of Yasbeck’s renewed warning is especially poignant: Ritter was born Sept. 17, 1948, and this year’s Aortic Dissection Awareness Week runs Sept. 13 through Sept. 19.