Apparently successful hole-in-the-heart story

Given my own interest in the possible link between a hole in the heart - also known as a patent foramen ovale or PFO - and stroke, saw some news today about entertainer Bret Michaels leaving an Arizona hospital after his own hole in the heart was repaired:

Valley-based rocker and reality-TV star Bret Michaels has been released from St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center in Phoenix after successful heart surgery.

Michaels, 47, was released after undergoing a successful heart procedure on Monday, Jan. 24, to repair a patent foramen ovale (PFO), a hole in the heart.

"Bret's procedure had excellent results," said Dr. Mansour Assar, interventional cardiologist at St. Joseph's, in a statement. "Because of the successful outcome and Bret's determination, I believe he will be able to return to normal activity within weeks."

Like many people with PFOs who have strokes, Michaels was somewhat young for the stereotypical stroke victim. Although as readers of this blog know, just being young or young-ish doesn't mean you're stroke-proof.

Michaels' procedure  was apparently very similar to mine (link includes a video of my procedure back in 2007) and if his outcome is similar, he'll be back to full speed in several weeks. I had one in in June 2007, started running again that August and finished a marathon less than a year later.