Jamie Dornan experienced heart attack-like symptoms due to toxic caterpillars during a recent trip to Portugal, as disclosed by his friend Gordon Smart. Smart also had to seek medical attention for similar symptoms while they were vacationing together at a golfing resort.

Smart recounted the incident on BBC's The Good, the Bad and the Unexpected podcast, mentioning that they initially attributed their discomfort to a night of heavy drinking. It was later revealed that their health issues were actually a result of exposure to processionary caterpillars, known for their toxicity.

Smart described how, only a day into their vacation, he experienced a "tingling in his left hand and tickling in his left arm," leading him to fear it was "the onset of a heart attack." He shared, "Now, I'm generally in good health, but when you entertain the thought of a heart attack, you can easily convince yourself that it's happening."

Smart was swiftly taken to the hospital and later released. Upon his return to the hotel, he discovered Dornan unwell. Recounting the incident, Smart shared, "Jamie said, 'Dear me. Gordon, about 20 minutes after you left, my left arm went numb, my left leg went numb, and my right leg went numb, and I found myself in the back of an ambulance."

"Anyway, as he exited the hospital, the paramedics requested a selfie, which is truly what you hope for when you're being wheeled out of a hospital room," he remarked.

The doctor contacted Smart the next week, disclosing that toxic caterpillars might have been the cause of their ordeal. "It turns out that there are caterpillars on golf courses in the south of Portugal that have been causing fatalities in dogs and triggering heart attacks in men in their 40s," he revealed.

"It appears we had an encounter with hairy processionary caterpillars, and we've been incredibly fortunate to survive that ordeal," he remarked. "So there's my tale; the positive aspect is it wasn't a caffeine overdose, it wasn't a hangover — it was a poisonous, toxic caterpillar."

Read more

Johnny Depp directs Al Pacino in first-look photos from 'Modi'

The star of "Fifty Shades of Grey" was recently featured in "Heart of Stone" as Parker and A Haunting in Venice as D Leslie Ferrier. Additionally, he takes on a significant role in the drama thriller television series 'The Tourist," where he co-stars alongside Danielle Macdonald, Victoria Haralabidou, and Shalom Brune-Franklin.