WWE legend and Hollywood icon The Rock has spoken out on his previous health issues, one of which affected his heart.
One of the most famous people on the planet thanks to his work in the ring and on the big screen, Rock is also known as one of the biggest names in the fitness industry. Regularly posting his workouts and epic cheat meals on social media and with his own line of workout gear in collaboration with Under Armour, Dwayne Johnson has become an inspiration for many in the weightlifting world.
In a candid appearance with his doctor Mark Hyman on The Dr. Mark Hyman Show, which aired on June 11th, the former WWE Champion covered a number of health issues he had previously faced. At the start of the interview, Rock, 53, noted that he got connected with Dr. Hyman through their mutual friend Ari Emanuel:
“So probably going on a couple of years now. I told Ari I was having some gut issues. I’ve seen doctors and I can’t quite nail it. I can’t quite fix it. It’s in my digestion. I feel great, and that’s the odd thing, but I just can’t crack it.”
After being connected with Dr. Hyman, Johnson stated that the symptoms of being unable to digest food were cleared up within 6 to 8 weeks, citing functional medicine and treating the root cause as the solution. Dr. Hyman pointed out that Rock taking previous rounds of antibiotics was the cause of the gut issues, as the antibiotics broke down the lining.
The Rock Elaborates On Health Scare
Later in the interview, the Hollywood star spoke about a more concerning health issue that affected his heart. Rock began by recalling how the issue affecting his heart was first discovered:
“I had a complete cardiovascular work-up. Everything looked great. Thank God. Knock on wood. Then there was what looked to be some stuff inside, like what they thought was plaque in the circumflex artery. I hadn’t even heard of that, I was unaware that we have an important one that goes around the back [of the heart]. When we looked at that on the old school traditional MRI, and the scans, it looked like I had build up, and then immediately the call to action was ‘All right, well, let’s get you on this medication. It’s a multi-month medication, and here we go. We got to get on it right away.’ I thought, God. I was so hesitant because I wasn’t taking any medication.”
Looking for a second opinion, Johnson went to Dr. Hyman regarding the diagnosis, to which the doctor booked in a scan and discovered that there was not a buildup in his heart:
“So then I called you. And I said, ‘Doc, listen, here’s what I got. I’m not throwing anyone under the bus. What do you think? And here’s what their suggestion is.’ And again, I’ll never forget on that Zoom. You went, ‘Okay, hold on, hold on, let’s not jump to conclusions. I don’t want you getting on that right now. Don’t get on the medication. There’s a couple of steps here I think we can do. Let’s get a scan done, but let’s get an AI scan done, that is incredible. I got the scan done, you sent it to your guy and then it came back. It was almost like when you hear a song for the first time and it’s like holy f*ck! I love that song. Sounds great. I remember when you told me, you said, ‘Hey, look, here’s the report from our head cardiologist. It looks great. It is just an anatomical thing that’s happening back there. It’s not build up at all. Those valves look great. Come back in three years.’”
Hyman also pointed out that Rock did not have any of the risk factors and that his inflammation was super low, adding that had he not got the second opinion, he would have been on medication for life that he did not need.
Later in the interview, both men emphasised the importance of health and getting checked out, noting that men are more scared than women to get their health checked, likely due to being afraid to admit vulnerability until it is too late.
Rock then spoke about his grandfather “High Chief” Peter Maivia, toughing through it until he passed away at the age of 45. Peter Maivia passed away due to cancer and refused to see doctors to treat the pain.
“He had all these aches and pains, refused to go and see the doctor. One of his guys, used to have him come over every day, he said to him ‘I need you to pat on my back.’ He would just pound on his back constantly. Just that old school, barbaric head in the sand mentality. He was 45 when he died. [What was the pain?] Cancer. And he refused it for months and months. Then it had metastised to the point where there was just no going back.”
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