Heart failure simultaneously overloads the kidneys while starving them of oxygen.
The two are related regularly enough that there are billing codes specifically for combination heart/kidney disease, and the ICD-10 directs users to assume that kidney failure is caused by hypertension if both are present, unless the provided documentation specifically states that it isn't.
It's not always the case; there are other types of failure, etc. But when both (or all) are present in the same patient, it's quite literally the default to assume the one is the fault of the rest.
As you said, I wouldn't claim to make 100% accurate guesses here without ever knowing anything about this man's actual condition, but I would hazard a guess that it was the other way around and the same heart that eventually gave out was the reason he needed the transplant in the first place, Which is interesting, but it does make it pretty bad click bait.
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