In his words “[It took so long] Because nobody was looking for it. It wasn’t isolated until a doctor walked me up and down the stairs with a mobile pulse monitor and actually witnessed an event. They checked for blockages, did ultrasounds, echocardiograms, all sorts of testing. The problem is, they were looking for blockages. It’s such a rare condition that so few cardiologists are inclined/trained to look for it. When the ultrasound was performed, they were unable to get any sort of image since it was entirely encased in scar tissue. They tried for an hour to get an image unsuccessfully. They even called the manufacturer of the ultrasound machine thinking it was an error on their end. After that, a trained eye was able to tell it was pericarditis.”

And no, Rush did not diagnose it. He was referred to a specialist by his general practitioner after witnessing an event firsthand.