Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has opened up about several recent personal health challenges, including a debilitating gut issue and a serious heart scare that led to an initial recommendation for lifelong medication. Speaking on “The Dr. Mark Hyman Show,” the WWE legend and Hollywood star detailed how taking a deeper, data-driven look at his health helped him avoid unnecessary treatment and inspired him to advocate for proactive wellness.
Johnson revealed that at the end of 2023, he was struggling with significant gut problems just as he was about to begin a non-stop, nine-month work schedule. “I got this gut issue,” Johnson explained. “I’ve seen doctors and I can’t quite nail it. I can’t quite fix it. It’s in my digestion.” After being connected with Dr. Hyman, targeted testing revealed the root cause, and his issues were resolved within weeks.
More alarmingly, Johnson detailed a recent heart scare that began after a routine cardiovascular workup. He shared the initial concerning findings in his own words:
“Everything looked great. Thank God. Knock on wood. And then there was what looked to be… some stuff inside, like a build up of, like what they thought was plaque… in the circumflex… artery, right? And 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.’ And I thought, God, and I was so hesitant because I wasn’t taking any medication.”
Hesitant to start a new prescription, Johnson decided to get a second opinion from Dr. Hyman before proceeding. He recounted the pivotal conversation and the resolution that followed:
“So then I called you. And I said, ‘Doc, listen, here’s what I got… 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… let’s get a scan done, but let’s get an AI scan done.’… And I said, ‘Okay, we got the scan done.’ You sent it to your guy and then it came back… I remember when you told me, you said, ‘Hey, look, here’s the report from our… head cardiologist… He said, 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.’”
Johnson is now using this experience to advocate for others, especially men, to overcome their hesitation and take control of their health. “When it comes to health stuff, and this idea of sometimes looking into the hood can make you feel vulnerable, maybe a little bit weak… We shy away from that,” he said. “The alternative is you don’t. And we know what the pathology is to that.”
His advocacy is fueled by his own family’s history. He shared the tragic story of his grandfather, wrestler “High Chief” Peter Maivia, who refused to see a doctor for cancer-related pain and passed away at age 45. Johnson views being proactive about his health as a gift to his own children. “Your health is a gift to your kids… it’s the best gift that we can give,” he stated, emphasizing the importance of factual data over online “noise” to inform health decisions. Click below to listen to the entire interview.
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article please credit The Dr. Mark Hyman Show with a h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription.