Worst two for one special ever. It was so bad that tabloids and tweeters were reporting Ricky Rozay's d**h at one point in this celebrity medical drama. If only Teflon was seizure-proof, the Don might have had another normal day of living the rapstar lifestyle on Friday. The CEO of the Maybach music group was set to fly to Memphis on Friday afternoon, to perform at “Memphis Madness” to kick off the first practice of the University of Memphis Men's Basketball team this season. Everything was cool until Ross started having a seizure shortly after takeoff from his Delta flight leaving Ft. Lauderdale. The King of Maybach's apparent loss of consciousness was enough to call for an emergency landing.
It was reported that paramedics arrived to the Ft. Lauderdale airport and performed ACLS (Advanced Cardiac Life Support), which contrary to many reports did not include CPR (Remember though: 30 chest pumps/2 breaths, you never know!). Ross was immediately taken to Broward General Medical Center to be evaluated. After being medically cleared to huff it on a private jet back to Memphis (cue the Hustlin' beat), the Teflon Don tweeted a video letting the people know who he was again and when his album was dropping.
If you think of having a seizure as your brain cells going through a lightning storm, then lightning struck the Miami reppin' rapper twice on Friday. The second seizure rerouted the jet for an emergency landing in Alabama where Ross was taken to University of Alabama-Birmingham Hospital. Staying true to HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) rules that protect patient privacy, hospital representatives refused to comment on the condition of both Rick Ross as well as William Leonard Roberts II (Ross's real name). Ricky Rozay's publicists will likely never let the seizure details surface. In any case, the Injury Duty medical team drops some knowledge bombs below about why Ross's brain might have had some major beef with him on Friday. Talk about “Deeper than Rap."
Our brain cells (neurons) basically send electrical signals throughout the electrical wiring (nerves) in our bodies. Simply put, a seizure happens when our brain cells start firing abnormally for some reason. So what could have caused Rick Ross to have two seizures back to back without ever having one before? Although Ricky Rozay isn't really the poster boy for healthy living, several things may have contributed to his seizures from drug withdrawal to poorly managed health problems.
First let's take a look at some of his health conditions. Just by looking at the dude, we are safe in a**uming Rick Ross has obesity. The chain of “Wingstop” restaurants he is planning to open may provide some insight into some of his eating habits. Based on lyrical evidence from his verse on “Usual Suspects, featuring Nas,” Ross also has Diabetes. Being obese and having Diabetes is commonly a**ociated with Hypertension (High Blood Pressure) and Hypercholesterolemia (High Cholesterol), further legitimizing the rapper's disease cred. According to the Center for Disease control (CDC), almost 40% of black guys over 20 years old are obese and have high blood pressure. They also die of heart disease 30% more than white guys. This is partly due to disparities in socioeconomic status and access to health care, but the Teflon Don balls too often to use either as an explanation (or an excuse) for his health.
No surprise to the rapper lifestyle, Ross regularly drinks alcohol, smokes weed, and probably dabbles in some other d** from time to time (i.e. c**aine). According to a May 2011 study from Spain that looked at seizures on airplanes, over 90% of the patients who had new seizures on a flight had a history of drug use or drug withdrawal. The most common type of drug withdrawal is from drinking a lot of alcohol on the regular. Seizures can occur even within a few hours of stopping a long drinking binge. Crazy right?
Exposing brain cells to alcohol increases the activity of a brain chemical called GABA, which slows the brain down by attaching to GABA receptors. Alcohol also decreases the activity of another chemical called Glutamate, which excites the brain by attaching to an NMDA receptor. Since the brain wants everything to be balanced, regular alcohol exposure causes the number of GABA receptors to decrease and the NMDA receptors increase (that's why we develop tolerance and we need more alcohol to get a buzz). As the brain starts to a**ume that getting crunk is the new status quo, it "rewires” itself accordingly. Abruptly stopping the drinking party creates a situation where the brain has more NMDA receptors, which hype brain cells, and not so many GABA receptors, which chill them out. This is why alcohol withdrawal can cause seizures. (brain cells start wilin' out from all the extra hype)
After the articles and tweets started flooding the digital world about what happened to Rick Ross, one source reported that someone in Ross's entourage thought his seizures were related to a recent “weed binge” in which the rapper allegedly smoked “at least 100 blunts.” According to several research studies over the past fifty years in both humans and animals, the active metabolites in marijuana have anticonvulsant properties, which means that they may actually prevent seizures. In fact, there have been accounts from the 15th century (back in the day-day-day) of marijuana being used to treat Epilepsy, a seizure disorder. A study by Columbia University actually showed that marijuana had a protective effect against first time seizures in men.
Until Ross's homey conducts some controlled research to prove the contrary, the medical literature would disagree that even chronic use of “the chronic” had a major role in Ricky's seizures. If anything, the increased appetite from smoking so much bud may have caused a huge rise in Ross's blood sugar (hyperglycemia), which has been shown to be a cause of seizures in diabetics. Although c**aine use has been implicated for strokes (portion of the brain does not get adequate blood flow), studies have shown that it is not a significant risk factor for a new onset seizure like Ross's.
Although we may never find out the true reason behind Rick Ross's seizure scare on Friday, chances are his doctors stressed certain lifestyle modifications to decrease the risk of future seizures for Ross. He will likely be monitored closely and will be worked-up with more tests if the seizures continue in the near future. Better diet and exercise, moderation of his social habits, and proper management of his medical conditions are the keys for him to continue k**ing it in the rap game without k**ing himself. From all of us at Injury Duty, stay healthy Rick.