Man eating at Heart Attack Grill suffers heart attack.......Customer was dining on Las Vegas grill's notorious Bypass Burger when attack struck
A man who scarfed down a burger and fries at a Heart Attack Grill restaurant in Las Vegas over the weekend actually suffered a heart attack mid chew, authorities said.
Witnesses said the man, who was in his 40s, was grubbing on one of the grill's notorious "Triple Bypass Burgers" when his symptoms started.
"He was having the sweats and shaking," a waitress identified as "Nurse" Bridgett told local station KVUU.
"The gentleman could barely talk," the joint's owner, Jon Basso, added. "He was sweating, suffering."
Basso called 911 and the man was rushed to a local hospital. He survived and was reportedly recovering, KVUU reported.
The Arizona-based chain caused a stir in Sin City when it opened in October because of its shameless glorification of fatty, high calorie food.
Patients wear hospital gowns over their clothes and are served by waitresses in skimpy nurse's uniforms, who check diners' pulses before taking their drink order.
Bypass burgers are served with "Flatliner Fries" cooked in lard washed down with butterfat milkshakes.
A sign on the door says, "Caution! This establishment is bad for your health." Customers who weigh over 350 pounds eat free.
Tragedy stuck the franchise last March when Blair River, a 6-foot-8, 575-pound pitchman, died at 29 after contracting pneumonia during a bout with the flu.
The grill has no plans to trim the fat from the menu following Saturday's scare, but Basso said his heart went out to the customer.
"I actually felt horrible for the gentleman because the tourists were taking photos of him as if it were some type of stunt," he told KVUU.
"Even with our own morbid sense of humor, we would never pull a stunt like that."
