Kuya Kim Atienza says 2010 stroke caused by hole in his heart

Before becoming the fit man that he is now, Kuya Kim Atienza had a stroke caused by a hole in his heart when he was in his 40s.

In an interview on "The Howie Severino Podcast," Kuya Kim, who is now 54, shared how the experience has changed his lifestyle.

"I was 43 when I had my stroke, that was in 2010," he said. "You know my realization, I got sick twice, in 2010, I had a stroke and then in 2013, I had a rare disorder called Guillain-Barre Syndrome or GBS that causes total paralysis."

Kuya Kim said the stroke came at a time when he was at the peak of his career. He was busy and doing four shows, including a morning show and a noontime show.

"One morning, I was just brushing my teeth in the bathroom and then, click. I suffered a stroke. And the stroke it hit the left frontal lobe of my brain that's in-charge of voice," he said, adding that it's also in charge of memory.

"Parang na reset, I didn't know who I was, where I was, what was happening. All I know in my mind I know something is wrong," he said. "So I wanted to scream. I tried to scream to realize that I couldn't use my voice because the stroke hit that side of my brain that's in-charge of my voice."

Kuya Kim said he was then brought to the ICU, where he was given anti-coagulant medicine. The blood was able to flow and he recovered.

He said unlike most people who suffer a stroke, he did not have high cholesterol and high blood sugar levels.

"My cholesterol was okay. I was a bit overweight but my blood pressure was normal but I suffered a stroke. 'Yun pala the cause of my stroke is very rare also," he said.

"I had a hole in my heart called the PFO or patent foramen ovale, which makes the blood flow inverted," he added.

Kuya Kim said his condition causes the blood to go to his head instead of going back down to the heart.

"And if you have a little bit of let's say cholesterol or a floating blood clot, then it will causes a stroke," he said.

"What I had kasi is called the stroke in the young or cryptogenic stroke. A stroke that has no cause and that's the cause normally," he added.

Kuya Kim said it took them about six months before they discovered that the cause of his stroke was already in his heart.

"So they were able to operate me and they put a occluder. It's a metal object inside my heart," he said.

Kuya Kim said he was ready for open heart surgery but a doctor volunteered to operate on him.

"Doc Jonas said, 'I do this on babies pero I've never done it on an adult. But we can course it through your groin, make the occluder go through your artery, pass through your artery and through your heart. And then, we engage it, we'll open it and we leave it inside," he said.

Dr. Jonas told him that his flesh will grow over that metal object made of nitinol which is an alloy of nickel and titanium.

Kuya Kim said he prayed then: "Lord, if you make me recover, then I shall be the healthiest Kim that I can be. I'll be a runner, I'll lose weight. I was a bit fat then, e."

He got into a walking program, which eventually became a running program. Now he is back to normal and all he has to do now is watch his diet and numbers.

He said when he gets blood tests he makes sure his sugar and cholesterol is normal.

"My number one enemy is sugar. Sugar. I come from a family of diabetic. And even with all my exercise, even when I join Iron Man races with a volume of exercise I do, my blood sugar is always high," he said.

He said he is able to maintain his blood sugar low because he stays away from sugary drinks and dessert and would eat a lot of food rich in fiber.

Kuya Kim said because he is an endurance athlete, he eats rice for carbohydrates but instead of white rice, he eats brown rice. He also eats a lot of red meat.

"I also consult this diet expert. His name is Harvey Deberon. And the one thing that Harvey and the plan he gave me is he makes me eat," he said.

"He says that hunger is cumulative. If you're hungry now, that hunger will show itself later on in the day and then you'll eat and you'll pig out," he added.

Kuya Kim said he learned that "the first thing that you want to eat when you're hungry is carbs."

"Because that's what your mind needs to function correctly, e. What happens is you'll get high sugar pa," he said.

"So what I do is I eat heavy in the morning. That old adage that you have to eat breakfast like a king, then lunch like a prince and then dinner like a pauper. I follow that."

—Jannielyn Bigtas/MGP, GMA News