The celebrity plastic surgeon and reality star opened up to ET about his frightening medical emergency.
Terry Dubrow is opening up about his frightening experience suffering from a ministroke, and how his wife, Real Housewives of Orange County's Heather Dubrow, managed to save his life.
Terry spoke with ET's Brice Sander on Wednesday and reflected on what exactly led to the moment he began suffering from a transient ischemic attack, which is known as a TIA.
"So we were at the Ivy, my favorite restaurant, the place actually that Heather and I met, and where we have all of our wedding anniversaries, and we're there with my son [Nicholas]" the Botched star said, recalling how he began to have trouble speaking during the dinner -- much to the fear and confusion of those with him, including his very concerned wife.
"I looked at her and I said, 'What? what is wrong with you?' And she stands up and she looks at Nicky and says, 'Call 9-1-1.' I said, 'Do not call 9-1-1!' And within, I don't know, a minute, it was already over," Terry said. "And so we got into an argument. I said, 'You are embarrassing me, stop this!' It had already been resolved. And she goes, 'Nope, call 9-1-1."
"My perception was not what she had observed, and that is one of the key messages," Terry said. "What you may be experiencing, in terms of stroke-like symptoms, may be very different than what others are seeing."
EMTs ended up arriving at the restaurant, and Terry said he sat with them out of respect for their time but was adamant that he was feeling OK. The more people pressed him to go to the hospital, just to be safe, the more upset and angry he became at the suggestion.
Terry admits now, in retrospect, he was acting like "a belligerent idiot."
Since Terry felt fine and paramedics found his vitals to be normal, the plastic surgeon ordered an Uber to take him home and he stormed off. He proceeded to call some of his trusted physician friends, who all shared similar advice.
"They, said, 'Terry, if you're not gonna do it for you, do it for your family. Just go to the hospital for your family,'" he said, which is what finally convinced him to go. And luckily for him, he managed to get there in time to save his life.
"If you're having a stroke... you have five hours to get to the hospital, to get what's called thrombolytic therapy, [which is] therapy to dissolve the clot before permanent brain damage occurs. And 60-90 percent of strokes result in permanent disability and death. TIAs have a 20 percent chance of permanent disability and stroke and death."
So he went to the hospital and was told to do the tests needed to assess the situation. "They did the test, they admitted me, and it was very clear that I had a TIA. But what was unusual was it wasn't just sort of hypertension plaque-related, age-related stroke," Terry explained. "They did a bedside echocardiogram which showed I had... a patent foramen ovale [PFO]."
A PFO is a small hole in the heart that didn't close the way it should after birth. Terry was told a blood clot passed through the PFO, traveled to his brain and caused the TIA.
"The doctors estimated that the clot that passed from the right to left side of my heart was the size of a period after a sentence on a piece of paper," Terry shared, "and because the blood vessels are so small in your brain, it just takes a little teeny clot to give you stroke-like symptoms or a full-blown stroke."
"If it weren't for my wife's insistence -- I mean, let's face it, most doctors' wives would go, 'Hey, you're a doctor. I'm gonna listen to you.' I would have gone home," Terry said. "I would have gone right to bed. I may have died in my sleep. I may have had a terrible stroke... Heather Dubrow saved my life. I mean, that is not an exaggeration."
Hailey Bieber experienced the same health scare last year, and Terry explained how both Aubrey Plaza and Emilia Clarke have had health scares related to ministrokes caused by similar afflictions.
Terry, 64, also posted about the incident on Instagram, reiterating his statements about the situation, and the importance of listening to those close to you.
"Listen to your partner. What you perceive may be different than what they are observing. Seconds may mean the difference between life and death," the plastic surgeon wrote. "I love you @heatherdubrow."
Heather, 54, likewise addressed her husband's health scare on Instagram, writing, "I love this man with my whole heart."
"I'm beyond grateful that Terry's ok, this could have gone very differently. If you see someone having stroke like symptoms- get them to the Hospital. You have 5 hours to get them treatment," the Real Housewives of Orange County star wrote. "I wanted to say a HUGE thank you to the doctors, nurses and techs at Hoag Hospital and everyone involved who helped us during this very scary time. Thank you for your kind messages, Terry and I are overwhelmed by your love and support."
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