What Is Patent Foramen Ovale (PFO)? Illness That Caused Hailey Bieber's Stroke

KEY POINTS

Hailey Bieber underwent an operation after tests revealed she had a hole inside her heart
The gap, which was 12 to 13 millimeters large, allowed a blood clot to travel to her brain
Bieber has been taking medications after undergoing a surgery for her condition

American model Hailey Bieber revealed this week that she suffered a mini stroke last month because a blood clot had slipped through a small opening inside her heart and traveled all the way to her brain.

Bieber, who is married to musical artist Justin Bieber, started experiencing stroke-like symptoms while having breakfast with her husband on March 10, she said in a YouTube video uploaded early Thursday.

"All of a sudden I felt this really weird sensation that kind of like traveled down my arm from my shoulder all the way down to my fingertips, and it made my fingertips feel really numb and weird," Hailey explained.

Aside from numbness, Hailey also began having trouble with her speech, and the right side of her face started to droop.

The experience was "definitely the scariest moment of my life," she said.

Tests later revealed that Hailey had experienced a transient ischemic attack (TIA), also known as a mini stroke.

"It definitely feels like having a stroke, except my body was able to resolve it pretty quickly, and then I didn't have any more issued for the whole rest of the day," she explained.

Doctors at the University of California, Los Angeles, concluded that Hailey’s intake of birth control pills, her recent COVID-19 infection and the way she slept through the entirety of a "really long flight" all contributed to make "a perfect storm" for the development of a small blood clot.

More tests revealed that Hailey had a patent foramen ovale (PFO), a small opening between the upper heart chambers, the right and the left atrium.

Hailey’s PFO was grade 5, the highest grade, and it was between 12 (.47 inch) and 13 (.51 inch) millimeters, she said.

The blood clot inside Hailey allegedly escaped through the opening and traveled to her brain, which is what caused her TIA.

Hailey underwent a PFO closure operation to plug the gap inside her heart and she was able "to move on from this really scary situation."

"It was definitely a really eye-opening thing for me. I definitely felt a lot of anxiety through the situation," Hailey said.

The model has been taking blood thinners and aspirin every day since she experienced her mini stroke, and she now feels "much better."