Hailey Bieber details ‘the scariest moment of my life’ after heart procedure, mini-stroke
Bieber revealed details about her March 10 hospitalization for the first time
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Hailey Bieber is sharing her health scare story.
On Monday, the model, 25, took to Instagram and YouTube to disclose details for the first time about her March 10 hospitalization, saying she wants to share her story in her "own words."
She described the moments leading up to what she thought was a stroke. Hailey shared she was at breakfast with her husband, Justin Bieber, when her fingertips felt "numb and weird." When her husband asked if she was OK, she said she "couldn’t speak."
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"The right side of my face started drooping, I couldn't get a sentence out," Hailey recalled. "Immediately, I thought I was having a stroke."
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Hailey shared that a medic was nearby to quickly assess her as an ambulance was on its way. She said her anxiety was "making everything worse," and she experienced facial drooping that lasted about 30 seconds.
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"By the time I got to the emergency room, I was pretty much back to normal – could talk, wasn't having any issues with my face or my arm."
Hailey shared that she stayed overnight while doctors conducted medical tests to try to understand what caused the blood clot. The doctor’s ruled out the possibility of a stroke after she scored a 0 on the test, but she said she suffered from a TIA — transient ischemic attack — or a mini-stroke.
Doctors told her she lacked oxygen in her brain, which led to the blood clot. Baldwin recalled in the video that the doctors told her three events contributed to her TIA.
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The model shared that she recently started taking birth control, which her doctors were unaware of. Hailey went on to share she had recently had the coronavirus and was doing some traveling, specifically "from Paris and back in a really short amount of time."
She was released from the hospital the following morning, and her doctors told her those three events created the "perfect storm."
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Additionally, Hailey went to UCLA, where she was diagnosed with a patent foramen ovale (PFO), which is described as a small opening in the heart that tends to close after birth.
After she had a trans cranial doppler, which she says is a "more accurate" and "in-depth" ultrasound test, she was diagnosed with Grade 5 PFO, which she said is the "highest grade" possible. Hailey explained that the blood clot escaped through the hole or "flap" in her heart and traveled to her brain.
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At this stage in the process, Hailey said she was "grateful" she now knew what caused the blood clot and began to plan for her next steps.
She underwent a procedure to close the small hole in her heart, which she says her doctor recommended. A "small, button like object" was inserted into her groin to close the opening.
In the video, Hailey shared that the procedure went "very smoothly," but she did mention she suffered from anxiety afterward over the possibility of another small stroke happening in the future.
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"The biggest thing I feel is I just feel really relieved that we were able to figure everything out, that we were able to get it closed, that I will be able to move on from this really scary situation and just live my life."
Hailey updated her fans on her daily medication, which consists of aspirin and blood thinners and assured everyone that she’s no longer suffering from symptoms.
She included in the video a special thanks to the doctors involved in her care. She said she waited to share the details of her medical scare because she wanted to wait until "everything had gone smoothly".
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In an Instagram post March 12, Hailey ensured her fans that she was at home and "doing well" after experiencing the stroke-like symptoms.
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"On Thursday morning, I was sitting at breakfast with my husband when I started having stroke like symptoms and was taken to the hospital," she wrote at the time. "They found I had suffered a very small blood clot to my brain, which caused a small lack of oxygen, but my body had passed it on its own and I recovered completely within a few hours.
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"Although this was definitely one of the scariest moments I've ever been through, I'm home now and doing well, and I'm so grateful and thankful to all the amazing doctors and nurses who took care of me!"
Hailey shared that since she made her health scare "kind of public," she wanted to tell the whole story.
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"If there's anybody that watches this that has gone through the same thing or something similar, I definitely really empathize with you," she said while concluding the video. "And I understand how life-altering and scary it is."