According to a Davie Police Department report obtained by PEOPLE and online publication The Blast, someone at the Miami mansion belonging to rapper and entrepreneur Rick Ross, (real name William Roberts), called 911 at 3:34 a.m. for emergency medical support — saying a person matching Ross’ description was “unresponsive,” “breathing heavy” and “slobbing out the mouth.”
When the male patient came out of his unresponsiveness, he was “combative” with medical crews, which prompted officers to be called to the scene.
Ross’ former girlfriend and mother of his child, William Roberts III, told PEOPLE, “Pray for him.”
TMZ also reported that the patient was transported to the hospital via ambulance and received respiratory treatment. A family member “strongly denied” the report of the hospitalization to the website, however TMZ has since updated to claim Ross is on an extracorporeal membrane oxygenation machine (ECMO) and may have suffered a heart attack.
A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, African-Americans have a much higher incidence of heart failure than other races, and it develops at
younger ages. Heart failure means that the heart isn’t able to pump blood as well as it should.
Before age 50, African-Americans’ heart failure rate is 20 times higher than that of whites, according to the study. Four risk factors are the strongest predictors of heart failure: high blood pressure (also called hypertension), chronic kidney disease, being overweight, and having low levels of HDL, the “good” cholesterol. Three-fourths of African-Americans who develop heart failure have high blood pressure by age 40.
Since Ross’ incident, today his friend and fellow hip-hop artist, Fat Trel, assured worried fans that Ross is doing just fine.
Trel took to Instagram to clear the air, posting a photo of his friend writing that he talked to him over the phone: “JUS TALKED 2 MY BIG HOMIE… HE GOOD… HE IN DA HOSPITAL BUT HE IS NOT ON ‘LIFE SUPPORT’ … HE GOOD”
This isn’t the only time Ross has had a medical emergency.
After suffering two seizures in less than 24 hours in 2011, the Bawse found himself sitting in the waiting room of a very expensive doctor’s office.
“I was the only black dude, and the rest was 55- to 80-year-old white males sitting in the room,” he says. “It was all silence and we all was kind of just looking at each other, like, What the fuck he here for?”
Ross watched as elderly Caucasian male after elderly Caucasian male was called by the nurse. Finally, it was his turn. The doctor broke it down…
for him. “He told me I didn’t have high blood pressure but I was hypertensive, which is a phase under having high blood pressure. And that’s when I said right then, ‘Yo, what’s my biggest enemy?’”
The doctor checked his chart. “Right now, for you, based on everything you wrote down: sodas.” Soda, wasn’t the only thing, but it was started point that Ross remembers.
While fans and colleagues may not know all the specifics of his health situation at the moment, literally thousands of them have taken to social media to express their heartfelt prayers and support for his full recovery.