experienced a medical emergency that could have gotten very bad, very fast ... but fortunately for him, his wife was by his side.
Dr. Dubrow tells TMZ ... last Thursday night, he was chowing down with his wife and son at The Ivy in L.A. ... when he suddenly began slurring his speech. Although it happened for less than a minute, Heather wasn't going to let it pass. She told their son to call 911 ... which pissed off Terry because he says he felt fine.Paramedics arrived on the scene, took Terry's vitals and said he was A-OK.
Terry received a flurry of calls from his doctor buddies during his car ride -- after Heather filled them in on the situation ... which convinced him to make a pit stop at the hospital.Doctors ran a series of tests, and discovered Terry experienced a transient ischemic attack, or TIA. TIAs are described as a brief blockage of blood flow to part of the brain, which can temporarily cause stroke-like symptoms. They're typically transitory and don't cause lasting damage.
Doctors also discovered Terry had a patent foramen ovale, or PFO, which is a hole in the heart that didn't close the way it should after birth. Doctors told Terry a blood clot passed through the PFO, traveled to his brain and caused the TIA.