Diana Hurtado.<br>Credit: NBC 6 South Florida/Youtube
NEED TO KNOW
A woman said ChatGPT helped her realize she was having a stroke
Diana Hurtado, 30, suddenly experienced numbness and facial drooping while driving for Uber
She has since undergone brain surgery, and doctors told Hurtado she likely would have died had she not sought medical treatment when she did
A woman said ChatGPT helped her realize she was having a life-threatening stroke.
Diana Hurtado suffered a sudden hemorrhagic stroke on Aug. 1, 2025, according to a GoFundMe established by her brother.
Recently speaking with NBC 6 about the situation, Hurtado, 30, said she was working as an Uber driver when she suddenly began losing feeling on one side of her body as she was behind the wheel.
The Florida woman said her arm went numb and her face began to droop. “I asked ChatGPT what it could be, and I wrote all the symptoms that I was feeling,” Hurtado recalled to NBC 6. “It told me, ‘Possible stroke — call 911.' ”
Hurtado used Siri to call 911. She then drove herself to Broward Health North, a hospital in Deerfield Beach, where doctors confirmed she was suffering a stroke caused by a genetic mutation linked to blood clots.
“They told me, 'If you had taken longer to call, you could have passed out in the car, bled out and died.' So that saved my life,” Hurtado said.
According to the American Heart Association, strokes occur when blood flow to the brain becomes blocked, or when a blood vessel bursts. The sooner a person gets the treatment, the lower the risk of long-term disability.
Hurtado has since undergone brain surgery and continues physical therapy as she works to regain mobility in her arm and relearns how to walk.
She told NBC 6 the emotional aftermath of the incident has been one of the most difficult parts of her recovery. “I was only 30 years old, and like me, many people think that stroke is for old people,” she told the outlet. “You do not recognize the symptoms because you have never heard of it, or you do not even think you can get it because you are young.”
Dr. Shaye Moskowitz, Hurtado's neurosurgeon at Broward Health, told NBC 6 that the woman was fortunate to receive treatment when she did.
“She got very, very lucky, really, in many ways,” he said. "The extent of damage that can occur from a stroke can be profound. It can be life-ending, and it often is.”
Moskowitz added that while strokes among younger adults are still relatively uncommon, they appear to be happening more frequently.
“It is not common,” he said. “It is becoming progressively, unfortunately, more common globally that younger people are having strokes.”
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According to the Cleveland Clinic, the increase in strokes among people under 50 may be due to lifestyle factors and is likely related to the rise in heart disease and diabetes in younger patients.
All funds raised through the GoFundMe page established for Hurtado will go towards in-home care and nursing assistance, as well as medical bills and rehabilitation therapy, plus essential equipment and supplies to improve her quality of life.
Read the original article on People