Bret Michaels suffers 'warning stroke'

LOS ANGELES, May 20 (UPI) -- Bret Michaels was readmitted to the hospital this week after suffering a warning stroke, a posting on the U.S. rocker's Web site said Thursday.

The 47-year-old musician suffered a brain hemorrhage last month. He returned to the hospital after experiencing numbness, and tests revealed he has a Patent Forum Ovale or a hole in the heart, the message said.

"There is no doubt that the positive Patent Foramen Ovale is devastating news to Bret and his family," Dr. Joseph Zabramski, Michaels' neurosurgeon, said in a statement. "The good news is that it is operable and treatable, and we think we may have diagnosed the problem that caused the Transient Ischemic Attach or warning stroke; however, we feel it is highly unlikely this is connected to the brain hemorrhage he suffered just a few weeks earlier."

Zabramski said Michaels has a "fantastic attitude both mentally and physically" for wanting to recover so "he can be active with his family, attempt to attend (Sunday's) finale of 'Celebrity Apprentice' and especially get back on the road to continue making music." The doctor cautioned the singer's "brain and body are not quite 100 percent yet, especially with the hole found in his heart."

The doctor said Michaels would be given outpatient care for the near future and further tests will be conducted.

A publicist for Michaels said the singer was "in good spirits, great medical hands and is positive and hopeful that everything is going to be OK," and that he was "walking, talking, continuing his daily rehab and very happy to be alive."