Dr. Dre, photo via Instagram
Dr. Dre, the legendary hip-hop producer and artist, recently received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, surrounded by his iconic entourage. However, amidst the celebrations, news has surfaced about his health battles, including suffering from three strokes while hospitalized for a brain aneurysm three years ago.
Here are five things to know.
Dr. Dre has faced significant health challenges, including a brain aneurysm in 2021 that led to him suffering three strokes while hospitalized. In a recent interview, Dre revealed the severity of his condition and the shock of being told he had high blood pressure, despite maintaining a healthy lifestyle.
Dr. Dre, who was induction into the Hollywood Walk of Fame on March 19 and cheer on by Eminem, Snoop Dogg, and 50 Cent, The Huffington Post reported, told SiriusXM’s “This Life of Mine with James Corden about his health scare.
Dr. Dre, 59, said he woke up one morning and felt something behind his right ear, which he described as “the worst pain I ever felt.”
“I got up, and I went on about my day, and I thought I could just lay down and take a nap,” he said. “My son had a friend that was there and was like, ‘No, we need to take you to the hospital.’ So they took me to urgent care.”
He went tot urgent care, where Dr. Dre said that he was “blacking out” and “in and out of consciousness” and he ended up in the ICU. He stayed in ICU for two weeks, Good Morning America reported.
“I’m hearing the doctors coming in and [saying], ‘You don’t know how lucky you are,'” he said. “And I asked questions, like what could I have done to prevent this? And nobody could give me an answer.”
“I had no idea that I had high blood pressure or anything like that,” he added, saying that he had maintained a healthy lifestyle up to that point. “I’m lifting weights, I’m running, I’m doing everything I can to keep myself healthy. I said, ‘Would that have prevented it if I had worked out a little bit harder or ate different or something like that?’ It’s like, no. That’s hereditary,” he said.
He also revealed that while being treated in the hospital, he had three strokes, NBC News reported.
A cerebral aneurysm, also referred to as a brain aneurysm, is a vulnerable or thin area on an artery within the brain that expands or protrudes, filling with blood. This bulging aneurysm has the potential to exert pressure on the nerves or brain tissue and may rupture, leading to blood leakage into the nearby tissue, a condition known as hemorrhage, according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Strokes.
The majority of aneurysms remain asymptomatic until they undergo rapid expansion or rupture. Signs of a swiftly enlarging large aneurysm encompass pain located above and behind an eye, numbness, facial paralysis, and double vision, necessitating prompt medical intervention.
According to the Brain Aneurysm Foundation, individuals of African American and Hispanic descent are approximately twice as prone to experiencing a ruptured brain aneurysm compared to those of Caucasian ethnicity, ABC News reported.
Dre also said the doctors told him the brain aneurysm was most likely hereditary.
“You know, high blood pressure in Black men, that’s just what it is,” he said. “They call it the silent killer. You just have no idea so you just have to keep your s— checked.”
Dre said his health scare prompted him to reflect on the fragility of life and the importance of cherishing each moment. He expressed gratitude for being alive and emphasized the unpredictability of health crises, regardless of one’s efforts to maintain wellness.
As a founding member of N.W.A, Dr. Dre played a pivotal role in shaping the landscape of hip-hop music. His early records with N.W.A and debut solo album, “The Chronic,” propelled him to international fame and established him as a trailblazer in gangsta rap.
Dr. Dre, photo via Instagram, https://www.instagram.com/p/CLnafuNpgsf/?hl=en
