Kim Kardashian opens up about her surprise brain aneurysm diagnosis

Dubai: Kim Kardashian has revealed she's been diagnosed with a brain aneurysm and the main thing she's been told to avoid is stress. Which, given her life, is easier said than done.

On the November 20 episode of The Kardashians, Kim told her sister Kourtney about getting the news after a full-body scan. "They called me today and they're like, 'Everything looks great but you have an aneurysm in your brain,'" the 45-year-old explained. "They're like, 'It's been there for years.'"

Kim reached out to brain surgeon Keith Black, who requested additional imaging at Cedars-Sinai Medical Centre. When she asked what could cause the swollen blood vessel to rupture, the answer was simple and it was stress.

"I'm like, 'OK, I'm taking the bar exam. I'm studying 10 hours a day,'" Kim said. "The stress has been next level to the point of hives now."

For someone juggling four kids, a business empire, and law school, being told to avoid stress is quite the challenge. Kim shares North, 12, Saint, 9, Chicago, 7, and Psalm, 6, with ex-husband Kanye West, and she's keenly aware of how much they depend on her.

"I have four kids that depend on me. I have to be sane," she said. "It's stressful out there, but this aneurysm can't be stressed."

Kourtney admitted she's worried about her younger sister taking on too much. "I'm definitely worried about Kim," the 46-year-old said. "She has so much going on between work and her four kids that I don't want her to have an aneurysm."

She even questioned Kim's timing, asking why she couldn't wait until the kids were older to pursue law. But Kim wasn't having it.

Despite the health scare, Kim's determined to continue her law studies, following in the footsteps of their late father, Robert Kardashian Sr. For her, this is actually the right time.

"I love that my kids see me go to school," she explained. "When I drop them off at school, they see me go to school. I enjoy that."

Kim also admitted she's "addicted to studying" and loves educating herself. "I just wouldn't feel like myself if I wasn't always learning and trying new things."

As for the bar exam she recently revealed on Instagram that she didn't pass this time round. "Six years into this law journey, and I'm still all in until I pass the bar," she wrote on November 8. "No shortcuts, no giving up – just more studying and even more determination."

Her message read, "Falling short isn't a failure – it's fuel."

Kim's approach to her health has been characteristically practical. As she told Good Morning America earlier this month: "Health is wealth. And you just have to be careful with everything that you do."