Columbus Anchor Suffers Stroke

WCMH (Columbus) Sports Anchor Jerod Smalley suffered a stroke, but he considers himself lucky. 

Smalley suffered the short stroke last week. “I’m very fortunate in that the stroke was very quick,” he said, “and we took it seriously and were quick to seek medical attention.”

But, Smalley will miss work to repair a heart defect that will require correction through a non-invasive procedure.

The Columbus Dispatch writes that the event happened around midnight on Thursday night. Smalley, 39, said he had just gone to bed when we lost feeling in the right side of his face and felt numbness and tingling in his right arm for about 20 seconds. Tests at OhioHealth Riverside Methodist Hospital revealed that Smalley, of Worthington, had suffered a stroke and found evidence that he had suffered an earlier stroke, as well.

The cause was determined to be related to a small hole in the heart, known as a patent foramen ovale, or PFO. According to the American Heart Association, about 20 percent of Americans have a PFO.

Smalley said clotting caused the stroke. Surgeons plan to patch the hole with a non-invasive procedure that has not been scheduled. Though he said he feels fine, Smalley plans to take this week off work. Smalley, who has two sons, ages 12 and 10, was released from the hospital on Sunday. 

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