American musician and actor Donald Glover, also known by his stage name Childish Gambino, says he had a stroke last year.<\/p>\n
On stage at Camp Flog Gnaw festival in Los Angeles on Saturday night, Glover said he “had a really bad pain in my head” before a show in Louisiana in 2024.<\/p>\n
He did the show anyway, and the 42-year-old rapper said afterwards he “couldn’t really see well” so he went to the hospital where a doctor told him “you had a stroke”.<\/p>\n
The latest data, taken in 2023 by the Stroke Foundation, shows there was a stroke in Australia every 11 minutes, with a total estimate of 45,785 stroke events in the country that year.<\/p>\n
That same data showed that 1 in 4 strokes occurred in people under the age of 65 years.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Donald Glover was forced to cancel his New World tour after he had a stroke. (Travis Hayto\/Live Nation)<\/p>\n
Glover was forced to cancel his New World tour just a month after it began in September 2024. At the time he cited a non-specific “ailment” but that he had to focus on his “physical health for a few weeks”.<\/p>\n
However, during the show at Tyler, the Creator’s festival this past weekend, Glover said he felt like he was letting everyone down, when he found out he had a stroke.<\/p>\n
“You got one life, guys, and I gotta be honest, the life I’ve lived with you guys has been such a blessing,” Glover said while sitting down on the stage.<\/p>\n
Glover added that doctors also found a hole in his heart, so he had to have two surgeries.<\/p>\n
‘Minimise your risk’ of stroke<\/p>\n
Kelvin Hill, executive director of Stroke Programs, Research and Innovation at the Stroke Foundation said the symptoms Glover experienced were some of “the lesser common signs of stroke”.<\/p>\n
Signs of a stroke \u2014 F.A.S.T:FACE \u2014 is their face drooping?ARMS \u2014 can they lift both arms?SPEECH \u2014 is their speech slurred?TIME \u2014 Call Triple Zero (000) immediately.<\/p>\n
He added that despite Glover’s stroke showing uncommon symptoms, “about 80 per cent of all stroke signs are covered by the F.A.S.T acronym”.<\/p>\n
“Facial weakness, Arm weakness, Speech disturbance, and Time \u2014 get to the hospital now,” he said.<\/p>\n
“It obviously impacts the brain but it’s actually the signal that the brain sends to the muscles which is commonly picked up in signs of stroke.”<\/p>\n
He added that whilst it is less common, people can experience “funny changes in their eyes” and “a really severe headache at the back of your head” like Glover experienced.<\/p>\n
The best piece of knowledge the Stroke Foundation gives people from 20-40 is to maintain a healthy lifestyle, Mr Hill said.<\/p>\n
“The decades before you have your stroke is what slowly leads to the stroke,” he said.<\/p>\n
“In your 30s and 40s is when you should be looking at your good behaviours.”<\/p>\n
He urged people under the age of 65 to “do the right thing, exercise, eat healthy, minimise your risk”.<\/p>\n
Data from the Stroke Foundation shows that the percentage of people under 65 having a stroke is increasing.<\/p>\n
Stroke events per 100,000 people in Australia rose to 101 for males and 65 for females aged between 45-54 in 2023<\/a>.<\/p>\n Assessments available from 45<\/p>\n Mr Hill said Glover’s age was a reminder for Australians to go and get a comprehensive cardiovascular assessment once you turn 45.<\/p>\n