Kim Zolciak Biermann gives update 2 years after mini-stroke: 'I knew something was off most of my life'
"I knew something was off most of my life," she told ABC News.
— -- It's been two years since reality star Kim Zolciak-Biermann suffered a mini-stroke.
Zolciak-Biermann called the Sept. 23, 2015, incident, in which she suffered a transient ischemic attack, a "blessing in disguise." She was forced to drop out of "Dancing With the Stars" and reevaluate her life.
"I was born with a whole in my heart and it was supposed to close and mine didn't," she told ABC News. "I would always have chest pain so I knew something was off most of my life."
Zolciak-Biermann, 39, said she went to the emergency room when she was 21, telling doctors something was off. But tests showed she "was always fine."
Before the mini-stroke happened, Zolciak-Biermann was competing in the ABC reality dance competition in Los Angeles and trying to raise her six children in Atlanta, traveling home "days out of the week," she said.
"I'd have a headache, but I'm still a mom. I still have to bathe the babies, get them into bed -- you push through," she said. "You saw what happened when I landed. Stress will kill you. It’s not really worth it."
Now, Zolciak-Biermann must take blood thinners "probably for the rest of my life," she said. "But I feel great and I'm doing great."
The life-long vegetarian said she's even returned to her love of running.
"When this happened to me, I was scared to death to get my heart rate up," she recalled. "I didn't run for six to seven months out of sheer fear."
It wasn't until she had to undergo a doctor-mandated stress test last year that she realized she could run again. Now, the reality star puts her feet to the pavement four days a week.
"I’m so thankful for that. It helps with just dealing stress overload and my thoughts. It's like my time," she said.
I feel great and I'm doing great.
And it's hard for Zolciak-Biermann to carve out time thanks to her six children -- four with her husband, NFL player Kroy Biermann, -- and two reality shows, including "Don't Be Tardy," which returns Friday, and "The Real Housewives of Atlanta," returning Nov. 5.
Zolciak-Biermann called this season of "Don't Be Tardy," named after her hit song, "extremely emotional."
This season viewers see the couple renew their vows, and Zolciak-Biermann lets fans go behind the scenes as she develops her skincare line, Kashmere Kollections. The family also deals with the injury of her 5-year-old son Kash, who was hospitalized last April after being attacked by a dog.
"There's just a lot of very sad tears of course, but some positive happy tears as well," she said, adding that her son is "doing awesome. He's doing really, really well."
