A woman in her late 20s was found unresponsive at home, unable to open her eyes or speak. One of the most useful clues for her doctors was already sitting on a phone: a selfie she had sent her mother about 30 minutes before she collapsed, showing both of her upper eyelids drooping.
Physicians at Wexford General Hospital in Ireland described the case in BMJ Case Reports, in a paper published in January 2024 under the title "Presentation of basilar artery stroke secondary to patent foramen ovale: a diagnosis made with a 'selfie.'" Her mother shared the photo with the medical team, and its pattern of weakness on both sides of the face pointed toward trouble at the base of the brain.
