Derryn Hinch, 80, admitted to hospital in Melbourne with ‘scary’ heart issue amid ‘pretty serious’ battle with skin cancer

Derryn Hinch has revealed that he was admitted to hospital last week with a heart issue. 

The 80-year-old has been suffering with atrial fibrillation, also known as an irregular heart beat, and underwent electroshock therapy to reset his heart rhythm. 

After being diagnosed a month ago, Hinch was treated at a Melbourne hospital and released the same day.   

‘I found myself getting short of breath and I thought “this is not normal”, so I went to my doctor and had an ECG (electrocardiogram)’ he told the Herald Sun on Saturday. 

‘My cardiologist booked me into hospital and on Thursday they gave me an electric shock to the heart, which is pretty scary, but it worked’ he continued. 

‘It put my heart back into a regular rhythm and I will just see how it improves my breathing in the weeks ahead.’

Derryn Hinch (pictured) has revealed that he was admitted to hospital last week with a heart issue

Hinch said he is recovering well and in ‘good shape’. 

It comes after the television star revealed he he facing a ‘pretty serious’ battle with skin cancer. 

The Aussie media personality said he is currently undergoing five weeks of daily radiation treatment in a bid to get rid of a melanoma on his forehead.

The cancerous spot just below his hairline was first discovered by doctors in February and he had it removed, but medics weren’t able to take out the entire area.

He then visited Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre to have a further operation to remove the melanoma and he is now undergoing radiation as ‘insurance’.

Derryn said he is taking the medical issue seriously and is just focusing on each day as it comes amid the daily treatment schedule.

‘It is not good. I have had two operations on my face and they still have to do radiation,’ he told the Herald Sun.

‘The only good news is they looked at a spot that I was operated on about eight years ago on the other side (of his forehead) and that is clear.

Hinch said he is recovering well and in ‘good shape’

It comes after the television star revealed he he facing a ‘pretty serious’ battle with skin cancer 

‘I tick off each day and once that day is gone, it is gone. It is pretty serious but as someone once said, that’s life.’

Derryn remained upbeat and said he is ‘feeling good’ as he has three weeks left of the radiation treatment at Alfred Hospital.

Earlier this year, Derryn revealed that he nearly lost his life during a liver transplant back in 2011 amid his first cancer battle.

The former Senator for Victoria told how he died on the operating table and had to be resuscitated as he detailed how grateful he is for every day of his life.

‘I found out from my surgeon, Bob Jones, that I died on the table and they managed to get me back. I am now living 13 years longer than I should have because I carked it,’ he told the Herald Sun at the time.

‘Since then, I have had a political career, I have been a senator. I have been in the business of journalism for more than 60 years.’

The politician underwent a liver transplant in 2011 after being diagnosed with aggressive cancer, and the organ was donated by the family of Heath Gardner. 

But in 2020, the New Zealand-born broadcaster said he hasn’t spoken with the Gardner family for more than two years after he began drinking alcohol again following the operation.

‘They got very angry when I announced that, ‘yes, I have been having a drink again sometimes’. Even though I had my doctor’s permission, they did not like that,’ he told the Herald Sun’s Sacked Showbiz podcast.

‘I will always recognise that family for what they did and the fact that without them I would not be here,’ he added as he credited their generosity for keeping him alive.