Jean Claude Van Damme Suffers Heart Attack

[Medusa]

Jean Claude Van Damme Suffers Heart Attack

3:57am Wednesday October 20, 2010
David Williams

Action movie star Jean Claude Van Damme has reportedly suffered a minor heart attack during the filming on his latest movie.

Van Damme was due to begin three days' filming in New Orleans

The actor was taken to hospital in New Orleans after the attack, which happened the day after his 50th birthday, TwitchFilm.net reported. He was cleared by doctors and joined by his wife, Gladys Portugues, before heading home to Belgium to recover. The star is expected to make a full recovery, with his representatives confirming: "He is okay."

Van Damme returned to Belgium with his wife, Gladys Portugues

Van Damme had been due to begin a three-day shoot in the city when the attack happened. Shooting of the film, titled Weapon, has been halted, with no date yet set for it to resume. The film, which is scheduled to be released in US cinemas in 2011, was in production in Romania before switching to Louisiana. Van Damme plays an assassin who teams up with a rival to beat a drug cartel which is being propped up by American anti-drugs agency, the DEA.