A billionaire and a famous actor both experienced the same health emergency recently – one that surprised many people, given their relatively young ages. One survived, one did not. The two high profile incidents involving Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert and actor Luke Perry have drawn renewed attention to the danger of strokes, which strike about 700,000 Americans a year, according to WebMD.
Gilbert, founder of Quicken Loans and Rock Ventures and owner/developer of a large chunk of high-priced downtown Detroit real estate, may have been lucky: his May 26 stroke occurred in a hospital, where he’d been taken because he hadn’t felt well. Doctors were able to perform a catheter procedure immediately. Gilbert, who is 57, is reportedly resting comfortably.