'Modern Family' Star Reveals Unexpected Longtime Health Condition
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Julie Bowen is opening up about a health condition that warranted the implantation of a pacemaker at just 29 years old.
The Modern Family star, now 55, revealed her diagnoses of sick sinus syndrome and hypervagotonia on the latest episode of the Inside of You with Michael Rosenbaum podcast, admitting that at this point in her life, she often forgets she even has the device.
AdvertisementAdvertisement#«Rkekkr8lb2m7nfddbH1» iframe AdvertisementAdvertisement#«R14ekkr8lb2m7nfddbH1» iframeSick sinus syndrome is a heart rhythm disorder that can cause bradycardia, or a too-slow heart rate, pauses between heartbeats, or arrhythmias, otherwise known as an irregular heartbeat. Research has identified hypervagotonia, or "persistent vagal overactivity," as a possible cause of the disorder.
In Bowen's case, it meant that her heart rate would go "really low," falling into the 30s. Now, with her pacemaker, her heart rate can't fall below 45, although that still falls below the average range of an adult's resting heart rate of 60 to 100 beats per minute.
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For much of her adolescence and young adult life, Bowen attributed her low heart rate to being a competitive runner. Luckily, her sister, who was in medical school at the time, took a listen with her stethoscope one day and identified a problem, encouraging the actress to see a specialist.
AdvertisementAdvertisement#«Rpekkr8lb2m7nfddbH1» iframe AdvertisementAdvertisement#«R19ekkr8lb2m7nfddbH1» iframeBowen said her sister "wouldn't let it go," but it took her another month before she heeded her advice, quickly shifting from thinking she was "fine" to feeling like, "Oh my god, my life is over. This is so weird, I'm going to die."
"I shot the pilot ofEdand immediately had to go get a pacemaker afterwards," she admitted. While doctors told her the condition likely wouldn't be fatal to her, she had begun to experience episodes of passing out, and they told her there was a good chance it could happen behind the wheel one day.
"They said, 'You're going to be driving a car and you're going to pass out and you're going to kill somebody,'" she recalled. "And I was like, 'Oh, well then give me the goddamn pacemaker.'"
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'Modern Family' Star Reveals Unexpected Longtime Health Condition first appeared on Parade on Jul 1, 2025
This story was originally reported by Parade on Jul 1, 2025, where it first appeared.
