Heather Dubrow opened up about husband Terry Dubrow‘s “really scary” health issue.
“Thank God, he’s OK. What’s really great is what he has was so fixable. He had a PFO, which is basically a hole in your heart,” the Real Housewives of Orange County star, 54, exclusively told Us Weekly on Wednesday, August 9. “If you have some kind of clot in your lower extremities and it goes up, it crosses over between the two sides of the heart and can go up into the brain. But [it was an] easy fix. It’s actually what Hailey Bieber [suffered from in 2022].”
Heather went on to say that the August 3 medical emergency came as a shock to her and Terry, 64.
“It was a really scary experience and something that we would have shared eventually. But honestly, I think I’m still in shock about the whole thing,” the reality star, who shares kids Max, 19, Nick, 19, Kat, 16, and Ace, 12, with Terry, added. “My son, Nick, was with us and it was quite an evening.”
Heather continued, “What’s so crazy is that the day before he had this aesthetic procedure done. He had a micro-needling thing done. [Because he was promoting his show Botched], he was like, ‘Oh, I’m gonna make myself look glamorous.’ So he didn’t look like himself anyway. So I’m not sure I noticed anything [initially] before the actual event happened. But he is talking about it and I really wanna be respectful of the fact that it’s his story.”
The couple, who tied the knot in 1999, have turned the health scare into a learning experience for their family.
“I cannot stress this enough that early intervention is a thing. If you have a family member — or you see someone — slurring or becomes out of it, then you must get to a hospital,” Heather continued. “Because with this hole — had he gotten a second clot — it could’ve killed him. Only one in five people [survive] from these kinds of events. [It is] unbelievable and it is terrifying.”
Heather noted that Terry has been on the mend since the operation, adding, “He’s good. He’s great and he’s back on his feet. He feels stronger and more powerful than ever.”
She then quipped, “And I have scheduled my breakdown for September 8 [after the RHOC reunion].”
“I’m just so obviously so grateful to the doctors that took care of him and his friends,” she continued. “Another really good thing to know is that Terry and I had a protocol if something happens. I called his friends, who were very smart doctors. When he wasn’t listening to me, then he would listen to them.”
With reporting by Christina Garibaldi
