Kim Zolciak-Biermann Reveals Lingering Health Issues 6 Years After Her Stroke

Kim Zolciak-Biermann is reflecting back on the scary moment she suffered a stroke at her Atlanta home. The former Real Housewives of Atlanta star was only 37-years-old at the time the stroke occurred. In an emotional Instagram post, Zolciak-Biermann says there were several signs she missed.

The Don’t Be Tardy star was in the middle of competing on Dancing with the Stars at the time she began having symptoms. While in LA for rehearsals and live tapings, she says she began experiencing severe migraines. “There [were] a couple signs prior to my episode that I didn’t pay attention to,” she notes. Looking back it was so obvious something was wrong,” adding that she  up with her head “pounding.” “Like a terrible terrible migraine. I suffered from migraines regularly so I just assumed that’s what it was BUT it was the WORST HEADACHE I have ever had.”

She took migraine medication throughout the day to try and ease her symptoms. But the reality star says nothing helped. After her performance, she hopped on a flight from LA back to Atlanta and drove home from the airport. She landed 30 minutes early. Once she arrived at her home. When she went in to hug her son, she couldn’t.

“My fingers went numb (I thought to myself, OMG Kim get over to the car and hold on to something),” she writes. “I felt like I was going to collapse & there was no way I was going to do that in front of my kids.”

Her daughter’s then-boyfriend aided her inside after realizing Zolciak-Biermann couldn’t talk or barely stand. He phoned her husband Kroy, a former Atlanta Falcons player who was attending practice at the time. Kroy instructed them to get Kim to a hospital immediately, noting  “EVERY MINUTE COUNTS.”

She later learned that her stroke was caused by a blood clot. Doctors also discovered that there was a hole in her heart that needed to be repaired. Six years later, Zolciak-Biermann still has lingering effects. “I take blood thinner daily & probably always will!” she writes. “I have no physical limitations but at times I can’t find the ‘right’ word, or I completely lose my train of thought. Thank God my hubby finishes my sentences.”