Hailey Baldwin Reveals Her Stroke Was Caused By 'Perfect Storm' Of Factors, Including An Unknown Heart Condition
Last month, Hailey Baldwin revealed she was recovering from a minor stroke that was caused by a blood clot. At the time, the 25-year-old didn't offer any more details about the terrifying situation, but on April 27, she decided to do so via a video blog on her YouTube channel.
Doctors suspect that the episode occurred due to the "perfect storm" of factors: she had caught but recovered from COVID-19, she was frequently traveling long distance on planes, and she had just started taking a new birth control pill — but most notably, they found out that she had a small opening in her heart.
"I had just recently started birth control pills, which I should have never been on because I am somebody who suffers from migraines anyway. And I just did not talk to my doctors about this," shared the model. "So ladies, if you suffer from bad migraines and you plan on being on birth control pills, make sure you tell your doctor because having a stroke is a potential side effect from birth control pills."
The heart issue didn't come to light until she did a transcranial doppler at a follow-up appointment. After being diagnosed with the small heart opening — which is called PFO and usually closes after birth — she underwent surgery to have it closed. Though the opening was tiny, it was enough for the blood clot to get through to travel to her brain.
Baldwin assured fans that all of the aftercare is going smoothly, and she's now taking blood thinners.
"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," the Rhode beauty founder concluded before saying how "grateful" she was for her doctors. "If there's anybody that watches this that has gone through the same thing or something similar, I definitely really empathize with you. And I understand how life-altering and scary it is."