Rick Ross was hospitalized early Thursday morning and is now connected to machines to help him breath and to assist his heart in functioning, according to TMZ. He is in the cardiac unit, which suggests that he suffered a heart attack. The site says he's hooked to a form of life support that oxygenates his blood from the outside before being put back into his body.
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He was hospitalized after someone in his Miami-area home called 911 to report that he was breathing heavy and unresponsive at around 3:30 a.m., according to TMZ. The caller reportedly said that Ross had a history of seizures and that he or she had attempted to wake Ross but that he was "slobbing out the mouth." The authorities told the site that when he came to, he was belligerent.
An ambulance subsequently took the rapper to a hospital where he is receiving respiratory treatment, which TMZ suggests could be for pneumonia. A family member, however, denied the report, telling the site that Ross had not been hospitalized.
Reps for Rick Ross did not immediately return Rolling Stone's requests for comment.
In 2011, Ross lost consciousness and suffered a seizure on a flight from Fort Lauderdale to Memphis. The plane had to make an emergency landing to save him. He also suffered a seizure on another flight around that time. A couple of weeks later, he said that the cause of the seizers was exhaustion. "I would get two hours of sleep and keep moving," he said at the time. "That has to stop." At the time, he said that doctors tested him for a battery of illnesses, including cancer, diabetes and HIV and gave him a clean bill of health.
"It felt like I just dozed off on the couch," Ross told Rolling Stone of the seizures on the planes. "I actually got off the plane like, 'Seizure? Y'all are trippin'.'"
Later, he told Rolling Stone that the seizures could have been the result of smoking too much weed. "I'm most definitely an avid user, a pothead, however you want to look at it," he said. "I call it green caviar. It's like a short vacation – it helps me chill out. And people really love it when I chill out, because I can really be a dickhead."
TMZ reports that Ross subsequently shed 100 pounds as he changed his diet and habits, as a result of the scares.
This story is developing.
Photo: Brian Stukes (Getty Images)
TMZ reports that rapper and entrepreneur Rick Ross has been hospitalized in Miami, after suffering what’s being reported as a potential heart attack, or possibly serious complications from pneumonia. Ross was taken to the hospital on Thursday morning, after initially being found unresponsive in his mansion. (He later woke, and was “combative” with authorities.) According to TMZ, he’s since been placed on a system known as extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, typically used as a life support measure for people who’ve suffered either lung or heart failure that leaves them unable to properly oxygenate their own blood.
Ross, 42, has had a history of physical problems; he suffered a series of seizures in 2011 that raised some serious concerns about his health. It’s not precisely clear what his prognosis is at the moment, though; at least one family member has denied that he was hospitalized at all, but TMZ sounds fairly convinced he’s been placed on the ECMO, a fairly invasive life-saving technique. The rapper’s friend and label member, Fat Trel, has said that he’s talked to Ross today, though, confirming that he’s in the hospital, but denying that he’s on “life support.”
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Rick Ross Hospitalized After Being Found Unresponsive at Florida Home
Update: TMZ has published a new report Friday (March 2) stating Ross is hooked up to a medical machine that has taken over the role of his heart and lungs. He is currently being treated in the cardio unit of a Miami area hospital. The report concludes saying, "It's essentially a form of life support, and a clear sign of how dire Rick's situation is right now."
Rick Ross Hospitalized, Machine Keeping Him Alive https://t.co/CgKZHddk6w — TMZ (@TMZ) March 2, 2018
Rick Ross was hospitalized early Thursday morning when police and emergency teams were called to the scene after he was "found unresponsive" in his Florida home, according to TMZ. The report also states that the distress and heavy breathing could be pneumonia-related.
The Davie Police Department confirmed the medical crisis to Billboard on Friday (March 2).
Rozay has had a long history of suffering from seizures in the past, which he credited to a lack of sleep. The dispatch record obtained by Billboard says the 911 caller noticed the MMG boss was "slobbing from the mouth" and "nodding his head" after several attempts at waking up the 42-year-old. Local police were alerted to the situation when Ross became "combative" with medics.
Police stated they got involved when "Fire Rescue 65 [requested police] to step it up, which means need to come faster in reference to a combative patient." Sgt. Leone, head of media and public relations, said since "Police officers arrived at 3:43 AM and cleared at 3:47 AM. I can speculate that we didn't get involved. We didn't write a report on it."
The original TMZ report says the Florida native was quickly taken by ambulance to a hospital in the area, where he is being treated for respiratory issues.
Billboard has reached out to Rick Ross' reps for comment.
