<\/p>\n
Ray J is under doctor\u2019s orders to stay on bed rest, take all his prescribed medications and avoid drinking alcohol or smoking because of his damaged heart.<\/p>\n
The R&B singer, who revealed this week that his heart<\/a> is pumping at far below capacity because of damage from his heavy use of alcohol and other substances, shared those directives with TMZ in an interview published Thursday. Doctors told him he likely has only months to live, with the former \u201cLove & Hip-Hop: Hollywood\u201d star predicting that he would die by 2027. <\/p>\n Doctors told Ray J \u2014 real name William Ray Norwood Jr. \u2014 that he should prepare for the chance that he might need a pacemaker or defibrillator soon, the singer told the celebrity site<\/a>. He expects to get an update when he goes back in two weeks for a check-up. <\/p>\n The brother of actor-singer Brandy said that if he manages to survive his current health crisis, he expects to emerge a \u201cstronger and a better person.\u201d<\/p>\n Ray J told followers in a video<\/a> posted Sunday that he wanted to \u201cthank everyone for praying for me.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI was in the hospital,\u201d he said. \u201cMy heart is only beating like 25%, but as long as I stay focused and stay on the right path, then everything will be all right.\u201d<\/p>\n He said elsewhere that his heart was beating at 60%. The number likely refers to Ray J\u2019s heart\u2019s ejection fraction, which measures the volume of blood coming out of the heart\u2019s left ventricle or being drawn into the right ventricle when the heart beats. Right-sided heart failure is far less common, according to WebMD<\/a>.<\/p>\n The man who was with Kim Kardashian in her career-launching sex tape said in other video livestreams that the right side of his heart was \u201cblack. It\u2019s like done.\u201d <\/p>\n \u201cI thought I could handle all the alcohol, I could handle all the Adderall,\u201d he said. Now, he told TMZ, he\u2019s been taking eight different drugs, including Lipitor, Jardiance and Entresto, and physicians\u2019 warnings for him to avoid smoking and drinking are a challenge.<\/p>\n Doctors have told him he has only months to live, Ray J said in his recent livestreams, and he believes he won\u2019t last past this calendar year. <\/p>\n He is 45. <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n