Phil Vassar is grateful to be alive. The singer-songwriter suffered a near-fatal heart attack and stroke in 2023, which he is now opening up about, and its impact on his life, two years later.

“I think it’s calmed me down a lot.,” Vassar tells Fox News Digital. “You’re always trying for the next thing, going to the next show, the next session. You’re writing, you’re recording, all that stuff. I guess it’s your body telling you to slow down, so I did. But I feel great now. I feel incredible. I guess it took dying to make me feel better, and that’s okay.”

Vassar had already not been feeling well, but kept moving full-speed ahead with his life and career. It’s a decision that almost killed him.

“And then it happened,” Vassar tells Forbes. “I was at my girlfriend’s house and went into sudden cardiac arrest. She started beating on my chest and called 9-1-1, asking them what to do. The paramedics got there within ten to 15 minutes, but it took them a long time to get my heart beating. They put me in the ambulance, and I coded again on the way to Vanderbilt.”

Doctors immediately put a stent in to open his artery. Unfortunately, three days later, Vassar had a stroke, which caused doctors to move him to the Shepherd Center in Atlanta, Georgia, for more intensive treatment.

“I don’t remember anything about the heart attack,” Vassar admits. “The first memory I have is in Atlanta in rehab. It was like, ‘What happened?’ I spent the next five months doing rehab, trying to remember stuff and learning how to walk. But luckily, it all came back relatively quickly.”

Vassar had been taking great care of his health when he had the heart attack and stroke, which is why he never imagined his health was in jeopardy.

“I thought I was in shape,” he acknowledges. “I just didn’t feel well. I had three percent body fat when I dropped dead, so it was just genetic heart disease. I was clogged up. It was a genetic thing, and I’m blessed to be alive. I’m going to take advantage of every second. That’s what you do.”

“I didn’t know why I felt so uncomfortable, so bad,” he continues. “But just because I had so much blockage in my arteries. It was really uncomfortable. I felt almost like I had an elephant on my back or something. I couldn’t breathe well, and now I can sing like a bird and play the piano and do my thing. I love it. I’m having a blast.”

Vassar is currently back on the road, headlining his own 25 Years of Paradise Tour, celebrating 25 years since the release of his No. 1 single, “Another Day in Paradise.” He is also recording more music, and feels a new energy and excitement about the next chapter of his career.

“I’m here and can still do what I love,” Vassar says. “I’m so blessed to be alive and I don’t take it for granted. I love playing with my band and can’t wait to get back out there and rock the fricking free world.”

Find music and tour dates at PhilVassar.com.