Rick Ross Reportedly on Life Support in Miami Hospital After Heart Attack

Rick Ross, one of Miami's all-time great hip-hop acts, seemed to be on a health kick lately. He melted 100 pounds off his infamously round frame between 2014 and 2016 and told anyone who would listen he had proudly adopted "RossFit" (a play on CrossFit) as a way to "save his life" from the ills of obesity.

But today, Ross is reportedly clinging to life. According to TMZ, Ross was rushed to a "Miami-area hospital" at 3:30 a.m. Thursday after someone in his Miami home found him unresponsive and "slobbing at the mouth." Sources told TMZ the medical issue could be related to pneumonia or heart trouble.

One family member denied Ross experienced any health scare, but TMZ has since released a second report warning the Teflon Don might be in seriously bad shape. The celebrity-news site reports Ross has been taken to a cardiac unit, where an "extracorporeal membrane oxygenation" (ECMO) machine has taken over running his heart and lungs. The system cycles blood outside the body to keep it properly oxygenated.

Ross, who grew up in Miami Gardens' Carol City neighborhood, has had some close brushes with death in the past. He suffered two seizures while flying on an airplane to Memphis in 2011 and nearly died. He later told New Times the health scare was blood-pressure-related, caused in part to a predilection for sugary sodas. He told New Times reporter Ryan Pfeffer in 2015 that he had sworn off soft drinks and instead enjoyed beverages such as "fucking fresh carrot juice with mint and berries."

In 2013, Ross was driving on Las Olas Boulevard in Fort Lauderdale after celebrating his 37th birthday at Miami Beach's LIV nightclub when someone rode up next to his car and pumped 18 shots into his silver Rolls-Royce. He later recounted the story to New Times: In classic Ross fashion, he said he wasn't letting the incident bother him.

"Rozay good," he said. "This my city.”

He's not wrong: In 2016, Ross held a blowout party to celebrate the tenth anniversary of his debut album, Port of Miami. He held the event at Jungle Island, which sits on land just across Government Cut from the port.

"Miami is a unique city," he told a New Times reporter, who noted that Ross smelled of "weed and expensive cologne" that evening. "When they got your back, can't nothing stop you."

He's right — and it's safe to say Miami is now pulling hard for Ross to recover.