Dr. Dre reminds us why high blood pressure is considered ‘the silent killer’

After experiencing three strokes and an aneurysm as a result of untreated high blood pressure, Dr. Dre emphasizes the importance of monitoring your health.

Sometimes, brushing off that weird feeling in your body can be fatal; just ask Dr. Dre. During an appearance on SiriusXM’s “This Life of Mine with James Corden,” the rapper reflected on being hospitalized with an aneurysm in January 2021. 

At the time, Dr. Dre was 55 years old and living in Los Angeles during the height of the pandemic. He recalls waking up one morning with “the worst pain” behind his right ear, one of the many signs of an aneurysm, but ignoring it in hopes that it would pass. 

“I got up and I went on about my day, and I thought that I could just lay down and take a nap,” he said, per Business Insider. “My son had a female friend that was there and was like, ‘No, we need to take you to the hospital.’ So they took me to urgent care.”

“Next thing you know, I’m blacking out. I’m in and out of consciousness, and I ended up in the ICU,” he added. “I was there for two weeks. I’m hearing the doctors coming in and saying, ‘You don’t know how lucky you are.'”

Within those two weeks, Dr. Dre experienced three strokes. As a result of the health scare, the rapper learned the aneurysm was triggered by untreated high blood pressure. The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke found that patients with unaddressed high blood pressure are more at risk of experiencing brain aneurysms as the condition causes damage and weakens arteries.  

“I had no idea that I had high blood pressure or anything like that because I’m on my health s–t,” Dr. Dre told the host. “I’m lifting weights, I’m running, I’m doing everything I can to keep myself healthy.”

According to the American Heart Association, 55% of Black adults have hypertension, also known as high blood pressure. Similarly, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) reported that the higher risk of hypertension amongst Black people also comes with a higher risk of stroke, end-stage renal disease and congestive heart failure. 

One of the implications of this disparity is a higher mortality rate for Black men and women compared to their white counterparts. The NIH study found that “​​the population attributable risk for hypertension and 30-year mortality among white men was 23.8% compared with 45.2% among Black men and 18.3% for white women compared with 39.5% for Black women.” 

“It’s crazy, so now knowing that I had no control over that. It’s just something that could happen out of the blue. You wake up and you go, ‘S–t. OK, I’m here,’” he said, sharing his newfound appreciation for life. 

Understanding the stronger impacts of high blood pressure on the Black community, especially men, the rapper encouraged Black men to pay extra attention to their health. 

“High blood pressure in Black men, that’s just what it is. They call it the silent killer,” she said “You just have no idea, so you know, you have to keep your s–t checked.” 

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