Last November 14, 2016, Vader announced that he was diagnosed with congestive heart failure due to his football and wrestling careers. He then visited two heart doctors and they told him that he has only two years left to live, as seen below:
Told by 2.heart Drs at this time that my heart is wore out from footbal&wrestling I have 2 yrs to live , conjestive hesrt failure reality
— Big Van Vader (@itsvadertime) November 15, 2016
Vader then found out about the diagnosis after being involved in a roll-over car accident, which left him unconscious for 35 minutes. In December 2016, he was interviewed by Hannibal TV and he explained his condition as well as what happened during his visit to the two doctors, as you can see below:
“I was in the medical center and I was seeing my doctor, who is actually an MD, and heart specialists came into my room. They said ‘We’ve been looking at your heart’ and I said ‘Who are you?’ I didn’t recognize the guy. He said ‘You have two years to live. We’ve been looking at your heart, and that’s the deal.’
“It wasn’t much longer than that when he came back in the room — cause he left and obviously I had a bunch of questions and I’m in the process of answering those questions at this point. So for me to start talking would probably be premature at this point.
“I’ve been in the gym, I feel okay, I’ve been feeling pretty good actually. I don’t know exactly what he’s talking about or if something will show itself up in weeks to come, but right now I’m still trying to figure out exactly what’s going on.”
A few months later, Vader regretted tweeting that he only has two years left to live. He explained everything when he was a guest on The Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling Podcast last March, as you can see below:
“I really kind of regret tweeting it out. In other words when I got diagnosed and was told, “Leon, you have a bad heart and you have congestive heart failure and we feel your time is limited and you have maybe a couple of years left… two years or less to live.
“I remember getting very angry and said this has gotta be bulls–t because I don’t feel bad and I remember getting extremely angry. Since that time and when I got the news I left the hospital and went right to the gym and rode the bike for a half hour. Hard. As hard as I could and when I got off the bike and got on the treadmill and walked for another 15 minutes pretty hard and I was exhausted but my heart felt fine so how can I do that if my heart is going to give out?
“The doctor in some of the ongoing appointments that I had with him explained to me that when you are tipping the scales at 400 and 420-25 pounds that a man that size and that heavy isn’t supposed to be able to push himself in a cardiovascular endeavor no matter what it is much past 2 or 3 minutes.”
Vader went on to say that he will continue to wrestle and that if the tests are proven to be true, he would like to die in the ring. However, last April, he passed out after a match in Japan due to a head injury. He apparently hasn’t wrestled since then.
Vader surfaced again last week and revealed his condition via Twitter that his heart rate has slowed into the thirties, as you can see below:
MY HEART HAS SLOWED INTO THE THRITYS SAY ONE FOR ME!!!!!!!! [email protected]
— Big Van Vader (@itsvadertime) March 22, 2018
Vader recently underwent open heart surgery in Dallas, Texas and according to his son Jesse, it was a success, but at the same time, it was worse than expected. Jesse posted this update from Vader’s Twitter account:
This is his son Jesse. I wanted to let everybody know that I just spoke to the Surgeon. The surgery was a success but it was worse than we had expected. Long road for recovery. Will keep you posted. Thank you for the prayers.
— Big Van Vader (@itsvadertime) March 26, 2018
After Vader’s Son, Jesse posted an update on Vader’s condition, WWE posted the following on Vader’s operation and wished him well:
Vader undergoes successful open-heart surgery
WWE Legend Vader underwent successful open-heart surgery earlier today, as confirmed by his son Jesse via Twitter.
“The surgery was a success but it was worse than we had expected. Long road for recovery,” Jesse wrote. “Will keep you posted. Thank you for the prayers.”
Join WWE in wishing Vader all the best during his recovery.