Typically, Jason Heyward likes to take a deep breath in between pitches during an at-bat.

But on Sunday night, that proved to be a difficult endeavor.

Heyward started the Cubs game that evening against the Cardinals and played 4 innings before coming out of the contest with shortness of breath and lightheadedness. He went to the hospital that night as a precaution.

He returned to the lineup Wednesday night after missing two games in between. Three COVID tests came back negative and the other tests on the rest of his body did not show any immediate issue.

While Heyward doesn’t have exact clarity on what happened, he said the doctors believe it was some sort of viral syndrome that gave him shortness of breath and fatigue.

“When it comes down to cardio stuff, allergy stuff, nothing came up,” he said. “The last test I did was stress test — [echocardiogram], which is you’re on the treadmill walking fast, running fast, hooked up to the EKG and heart monitor.

“All that stuff came back clear which is, for me, great peace of mind on the physical end as far as me being healthy and able to come back out here and play.”

In a Zoom call with the media Wednesday, Heyward explained his harrowing experience over the weekend at Wrigley Field.

In his first at-bat Sunday night, he was unable to take his customary breath before a 3-2 pitch.

“I went to take that breath, and I felt like it wasn’t there,” he said Wednesday. “I tried to just relax, take a deep breath and reset my mind, I guess. It wasn’t there and then I had to rush the breath out, the exhale had to rush out. And I was like, ‘OK, that’s not normal. So let’s try this again.’ And it wasn’t there.

“But I tried not to freak myself out, just wanted to play, keep my mind off of that. … So we had a pitching change that next top half of the inning, I went and told [Kyle Schwarber] and [Ian Happ] and was like, ‘hey, serious question, what do I do if I feel like I can’t breathe normal?’ They were just like, ‘hey, I’m sure it’s OK, take some deep breaths, blah blah blah,’ and I’m like, ‘I really can’t.’

“That was of course part of my concern was them and anyone else I come in contact with at the time. But I went up there for the next at-bat, just trying not to think about it. And regardless of the result, it didn’t matter to me. I just knew that something wasn’t right and then I went and talked to [Anthony Rizzo] and I’m like, ‘alright, bro, I don’t feel right.’ And I started to panic a little bit ’cause the breathing wasn’t there and them I’m like, ‘alright, it’s not getting better, I need to say something ’cause I need to get away from everyone.’

“So I did of course, they got me out of the game and immediately took great care of me, did all the tests again. Everything that would get done just to make sure that from a personal standpoint, I’m healthy as a human being, but then of course, as an athlete.”

Heyward admitted part of his concern was that he might have COVID given the similarity in symptoms and did not want to potentially infect teammates. But he said it would have been surprising to have contracted the coronavirus given he feels he’s taken every precaution to be safe and follow protocols.

He also acknowledged that in the current landscape of the pandemic, he was more stressed than he normally might be about the shortness of breath. That led to some panic after he came out of the game, but he’s grateful to pass all the tests and get back out on the field.

“More than anything, just happy to be healthy and know that nothing’s terribly wrong with me,” he said.

Heyward will be recognized Wednesday as the Cubs’ nominee for the Roberto Clemente Award given out to the player from each team that displays a commitment to their community and helping others.