What you should know about Hailey Bieber’s “mini-stroke”
It was just a normal morning for Hailey Bieber when she suddenly felt a “really weird sensation” during breakfast with her husband Justin Bieber. Her fingertips began to feel numb, she was unable to speak and the right side of her face started drooping.
She was diagnosed with a transient ischemic attack, or TIA, because of a small blood clot in her brain, and she shared her experience with concerned fans on her YouTube channel. This is an episode of temporary neurological dysfunction caused by lack of blood flow to part of the brain that resolves, said Dr. Joshua Hallett, stroke medical director at Advocate Condell Medical Center.
“The general public often refers to these as mini-strokes,” Dr. Hallett said, noting that a TIA will commonly present with typical stroke symptoms that resolve, typically in less than 24 hours, most commonly in minutes to hours. “The concern with a TIA is that they often are a precursor to either further TIA’s or an actual stroke that can lead to permanent deficits. They can affect anyone.”
Signs of a TIA or stroke include a facial droop, arm or leg weakness, slurred speech or difficulty speaking, confusion, numbness, difficulty walking, and even less obvious symptoms such as dizziness and changes in vision. It is important to seek medical care immediately with any signs of a TIA or stroke, Dr. Hallett said.
Once you’ve been diagnosed with a TIA, treatment is focused on stroke prevention and assessing your risk factors and symptoms. The doctor may order a few imaging, cardiac and lab tests to rule out other conditions like atrial fibrillation.
“The purpose of these evaluations is to see if a patient has any risk factors for a stroke and to optimize their medical status to prevent a stroke,” Dr. Hallett said.
Managing risk for stroke can include control and management of blood pressure, diabetes, cholesterol, weight in addition to ensuring exercise and a healthy diet and quitting smoking. Other treatment options could be aspirin and other antiplatelet medications.
“It’s important to know the warning signs and symptoms of TIA and stroke so you can get medical attention as soon as possible,” said Dr. Hallett.
Now is the perfect time to make an appointment with a primary care physician. Whether you live in Illinois or Wisconsin, it’s easy to find a doctor near you.
What needs to be mentioned is that her stroke was attributed to having a PFO (hole in the heart that did not close up after birth). She also had migraines her whole life, classic symptom of having a PFO. Now would be the time to educate the public on PFOs.
Per CBS report from 3/14/2022, They go on to inform readers, “In addition, young women who smoke and also take birth control pills are at increased risk for developing blood clots that could travel to the brain and cause a stroke. ” It seems we should know this was part of her story, too? Especially if it can help other young women who read your article/s.
I too have A PFO. I had a stroke and it was followed by Tio. I had an implant to close the pfo. It is called an amplatzer occluder. I was taking Plavix for about three years. I am doing well and have not had an incident so far, thank God. It was scary to be told that you have a hole in your heart. I tried to live with it but I had the TIOs and they scared me. The closure is an umbrella type instrument that is inserted with a tube
I had a PFO diagnosed after having an eye stroke. It left me with little vision in my right eye. I did have the PFO closed and I take baby aspirin and Repatha shots for cholesterol and have been great since!