Houston rapper's heart transplant at 28 years old inspires song

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Would you know the signs and symptoms of congestive heart failure? It's an important question that one Houston rappers wants everyone to ask themselves.

Miles segue-Oside had no idea his heart was about to fail until it was almost too late.

Miles, who goes by 'Kilometerz' on the stage, was 26 years old and had a budding music career ahead of him when he found out he had advanced congestive heart failure.

He said it started out as a nagging cough that stayed with him for about a year.

Doctors first thought it was bronchitis and tried treating his symptoms with medication. Medical professionals even thought he may have had pneumonia but his condition only grew worse.

"They said my liver and kidney wasn't functioning at one hundred percent so they told me go straight to the hospital," said Miles. "(They said) don't even go home, and I was like, 'Oh, it's that serious?'"

He admits that he was scared because he lost his mom to heart failure as a child. She was waiting for a heart transplant when she died.

After transferring to UTHealth Houston and the Memorial Hermann Heart and Vascular Institute-TMC, Miles found out that he also needed a new heart.

"He was having a lot of fluid and he was extremely short of breath. He was hardly able to complete any sentences", said Dr. Sriram Nathan, cardiologist with the heart failure team at McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston and the Memorial Hermann Heart and Vascular Institute-TMC.

Dr. Nathan says Miles' heart was just too weak to work on its own. He needed a heart pump, called an LVAD, or left ventricle assist device.

That battery-powered device was strapped to his body 24/7 for more than two years while he waited for a new heart.

After two attempts at a match, the rapper known for his bright smile, got the call he was praying for.

Miles says he thinks of his mom a lot.

"She would be proud of me and all I've accomplished," said Miles.

Miles has released a new song called "Hearty McFly" on Apple Music, Spotify and Youtube. It's about his incredible heart journey.

It's important that you know these signs and symptoms of congestive heart failure:

• Shortness of breath

• Fatigue and weakness

• Swelling in the legs, ankles and feet

• Rapid or irregular heartbeat

• Persistent cough or wheezing with white or pink blood-tinged mucus

• Abdominal Swelling

• Rapid weight gain from fluid buildup

• Nausea

• Lack of appetite

• Chest pain