Tom Hanks has publicly disclosed type 2 diabetes and, in a 2020 interview about COVID-19, said he had a heart stent. He also described aches, fatigue and difficulty concentrating during his COVID-19 illness. The available reporting does not establish that these health issues almost took his life.
What health conditions has Tom Hanks publicly disclosed?
Type 2 diabetes
In 2013, Hanks said his doctor had monitored high blood-sugar numbers since he was 36 before telling him he had type 2 diabetes. Hanks recounted the doctor’s words during an interview on The Late Show; they are his account of that conversation, not a separate medical record. CBS News reported his disclosure on October 8, 2013.
A heart stent
In a 2020 interview about his COVID-19 hospitalization, Hanks said he had a stent in his heart. He recalled asking whether his age, type 2 diabetes and stent made him a “red flag case.” That was Hanks describing what he asked; the interview does not report a clinician’s risk classification. It also does not give the stent’s date or reason. The Guardian published the interview on July 6, 2020.
What did Hanks say happened when he had COVID-19?
Hanks and Rita Wilson announced positive COVID-19 tests in March 2020. In his later account, Hanks described body aches, fatigue and difficulty concentrating. He said doctors monitored him for a rising temperature and signs of pneumonia. TIME reported their positive tests on March 12, 2020; The Guardian later published his account of the illness.
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A 2021 retrospective reported that the couple went to hospital, quarantined and returned to Los Angeles a couple of weeks later. That recovery timeline describes what happened after their reported illness; it does not establish that Hanks was near death. MLB.com published the retrospective on March 16, 2021.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Did Hanks’s health issues almost take his life?
The cited reporting does not support that claim. Hanks described symptoms and medical monitoring during COVID-19, but none of these accounts establishes that he nearly died. His mention of a heart stent does not, by itself, establish that he had a heart attack or explain why he received it.
Nor does the available reporting establish a current health condition or provide Hanks’s medical records. A viral claim that he would spend the rest of his life in and out of hospitals was not supported by PolitiFact’s fact check. PolitiFact published its review on June 4, 2021.
Quick Recap
Best Value
- Blu-ray
- Multiple Formats, Blu-ray, AC-3
- English (Subtitled), French (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled)
- 2
- 104
Rank #4
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- Factory sealed DVD
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