Chevy Chase Put Into Coma For 8 Days After Heart Stopped in 2021

Chevy Chase was put into a coma by doctors for more than a week after his heart failed in 2021, friends and family of the star revealed in a new documentary.

The actor and his loved ones gave extensive interviews for CNN's new documentary, "I’m Chevy Chase and You’re Not" according to Variety.

Chevy's wife, Jayni Chase, says in the new doc that she took her husband to the emergency room because they didn't know what was wrong with him ... which was when his heart just stopped.

Janyi tells CNN, "During those years he was drinking, he got cardiomyopathy; when the heart muscles get weaker, and they can’t pump as much blood out with each beat." Chase dealt with substance abuse issues for years ... going to rehab in the 1980s for prescription pills and again in 2016 for alcohol abuse.

Doctors decided to put Chevy into a coma, his longtime friend Peter Aaron says ... with Chevy's daughter Caley Chase adding doctors admitted they "might not get him back" and warning the family to prepare for the worst.

Chevy ultimately survived ... though he now suffers from memory issues -- and, when confronted in the documentary with his alleged behavior on "Saturday Night Live" and "Community," he says he can't remember much of it.