The Shocking On-Air Moment That Predicted Kim Kardashian’s Alzheimer’s Risk

At first, it’s almost impossible to imagine Kim Kardashian with Alzheimer’s Disease…after all, her fame is tied to her being a young and beautiful influencer and reality TV star. Why is she worried about a disease that predominantly affects older people? Well, it all started with a particularly surprising event: her onscreen brain scan!

Not that long ago, Kim Kardashian discovered that she had an aneurysm in her brain. This led to her getting an on-air scan, after which a doctor helped explain what these findings meant for her brain. Among other things, she was worried that the previous aneurysm and the scary findings of her scan put her at increased risk of developing Alzheimer’s.

What’s the deal with this scan? What did Kim Kardashian have to say about it, and what does this mean for the reality mogul’s future health? Keep reading to find out!

The brain scan watched by millions

Admittedly, “Kim Kardashian gets her brain scanned while millions watch” sounds dangerously close to a headline from the Onion, the internet’s premier satire site. But this headline is no parody: Kim really did get scanned last month for an episode of The Kardashians. And what came next was even more shocking.

After the scan, Kim Kardashian’s noggin was analyzed by Dr. Daniel Amen. He’s a specialist in brain disorders, and he wasted no time telling Kim what her results could mean. In short, she has “holes” in her brain, and her frontal lobes have a lack of activity. This puts her at an increased risk of a number of health issues, but perhaps the biggest thing she worried about was developing Alzheimer’s Disease.

RELATED: 10 Early Warning Signs of Alzheimer’s and Dementia

Why Kim Kardashian got scanned

Obviously, Kim Kardashian is no stranger to turning her own life into shocking, buzzworthy content. Because of this, you might think she got her brain scanned just to create more sensationalistic headlines. Not this time, though: it turns out that Kim requested the scan due to a related health scare that she experienced earlier this year.

If you haven’t been (ahem) keeping up with the Kardashians, Kim was diagnosed with a brain aneurysm earlier this year. Kim knew this health scare was basically a wake-up call, so she began seeking out experts who could help her understand what was going on with her body. That’s why she reached out to Dr. Amen: because he specializes in brain disorders, he was uniquely qualified to help Kim understand what her aneurysm might mean. Thanks to him, she now understands that she has (here’s a pleasant surprise) a relatively low risk of Alzheimer’s Disease and, most importantly, she understands what she can do to keep herself safe over time.

The reason Kim Kardashian worried about Alzheimer’s

So, unless you’re a doctor, you’ve probably got a simple question: why was Kim Kardashian so worried about developing Alzheimer’s and other health issues? For one thing, an aneurysm can lead to a vessel rupture; if that happens, it can lead to a reduction in cognitive abilities that may ultimately turn to Alzheimer’s Disease. This was bad enough, but Kim’s scan also showed that she had low activity in her frontal lobes. 

Why is that a big deal? Basically, Alzheimer’s has been linked to lower levels of brain activity. When Dr. Amen first came onto her show, Kim Kardashian was understandably concerned…like many of us, she worries about her health, and she’s especially worried about developing any kind of degenerative disorders as she gets older. Fortunately, the good doctor was able to put most of Kim’s fears to rest, all while giving her advice that will help keep her that much healthier (and, therefore, that much safer) for many years (if not many decades) to come.

RELATED: 7 Warning Signs Of A Brain Aneurysm That Can Save Your Life

Will Kim Kardashian be okay?

If you’re a big Kim Kardashian fan, you’re probably very worried about her health after reading all of this. And even if you don’t like her, you don’t want anyone (even a filthy rich celebrity) to grow up dealing with Alzheimer’s disease. Fortunately, Dr. Amen revealed to the reality TV star that she was actually at a relatively low risk of getting Alzheimer’s. His diagnosis is precisely why it’s important to get scans and health screenings from professionals who know how to interpret the results and tell you exactly what is going on with your body.

Speaking of which, what’s going on with the holes in Kim Kardashian’s brain, not to mention that low activity in her frontal lobe? According to Dr. Amen, those were both caused by major stress. What was stressing out everyone’s favorite reality celeb, though? Part of the stress came from studying for her bar exam (if you didn’t know, Kim Kardashian dreams of being a lawyer like her famous father). The rest came from her divorce, which makes sense: honestly, dealing with her former husband, Kanye West, sounds like it would be enough to stress any of us out!