Here's Why 'OutDaughtered' Matriarch Danielle Busby Is Wearing a Heart Monitor

The always busy and sometimes complicated lives of husband and wife Danielle and Adam Busby and their six daughters are the focus of the TLC series Outdaughtered. 

The docuseries debuted in 2016, when the couple's quintuplet daughters were just 1 year old and their eldest, Blayke, was a tot. 

Seven seasons later, Adam and Danielle have beaten the reality TV odds. They're still happily married, and their focus has remained on raising their daughters.

While OutDaughtered is often good family fun, the Busby family has had their fair share of hardships. Adam has been candid about his battle with depression, while daughter Hazel has struggled with an eye condition. 

Toward the end of 2020, Danielle also opened up about dealing with various health issues. Months later, she was hospitalized, and she's still trying to figure out what exactly is going on.

What happened to Danielle Busby? Read on to find out the latest.

While Danielle is a supermom to her six kids on OutDaughtered, she hasn't been feeling like herself on Season 8. Since fall 2020, Danielle has been in and out of the hospital, and her fans are more than concerned. 

In the months since the reality star first shared her health struggles, she hasn't been able to identify what exactly is wrong with her.

She suspects that she has some sort of autoimmune disease, and opened up to Entertainment Tonight about some of her symptoms in March 2021.

"I'm just like on a wave and have a lot of ups and downs and different forms of pains. From physical pains, to migraines, to numbness, to tinglings, to digestive problems, to a little bit of skin issues," she shared about what she's been dealing with. "It's just a bunch of random things ... but there really is no identifying conclusion to this."

Until she gets a proper diagnosis, Danielle is continuously going through testing. 

"I'm looking at a possible autoimmune disease, and sometimes that's just not easily defined. I'm just kind of having to go through a lot of the same processes over again, restarting different routines of blood work and everything," she added.

Danielle then said that she was trying to figure out how to mitigate her pain with certain lifestyle changes — including prioritizing her mental health and exercise.

Her husband added that it's been "tough" to see Danielle struggling, especially since there's still so much that is unknown about her illness.

"It's honestly been tough through this process just because we don't really know what's going on, and just trying to support her through the process and encourage her as best I can. But also just trying to take as much of the weight and burden of just everyday tasks around the house," he told ET. "Parenting, and stuff, just so that she can relax a little bit."

Back in January of 2021, Adam alarmed his 1.3 million followers when he shared that Danielle was spending time in the hospital. He posted a black-and-white photo on Instagram of Danielle laying in a hospital bed. 

He asked his followers to send along their positive thoughts and prayers. At the time, he added that Danielle was going through "invasive" testing, and that he was anxiously awaiting "answers" and a "clear direction."

"Today is the day of [Danielle]'s most invasive test so far. Praying it leads to answers and a clear direction for the doctors," he wrote in his caption.

Danielle later confirmed on her Instagram Stories that she hadn't been feeling well for months.

She explained that she was first hospitalized back in November 2020, and that she's since been seeing multiple doctors to try to figure out what is going on. Danielle confirmed that she's been seeing a specialist for potential heart issues, as well as a rheumatologist. 

The reality star also got an MRI at the end of December.

"Ever since I ended up in the emergency room back in November, I have been seeing multiple doctors to try & help figure out what's going on with me. I was led to the care of a cardiologist and rheumatologist, who have both been amazing. Lots of tests have been done for both doctors ... some results have come back OK, and some... not so much. So today ... I'm doing pre-op for a more intense test for tomorrow," she wrote in an Instagram Story. 

Just a few days after Adam's shocking post from Danielle's hospital room, his wife further discussed what she was facing. On Jan. 8, 2021, she shared on Instagram that she had avoided getting an operation. 

"I went into my procedure on Monday pretty certain that I would be coming out with having to have a surgery, but my prayer was answered and NO surgery is needed," she wrote.

She didn't specify what the procedure was for.

In the rest of her caption, Danielle noted that she was hopeful, but that the road ahead of her would be a long one.

"Though this was a result I was praying for (no surgery), this doesn't mean this is the end to my current struggles," the 37-year-old added. "More tests lead to more doctors... but still no clear answer at the moment of what's going on. Please understand, I am in the window of uncertainty and I only feel comfortable sharing as much as this. I will continue to share as more things start to unfold."

On Season 8, Episode 8 of Outdaughtered, Danielle returned from the doctor with a new heart monitor, which she later revealed to her husband and daughters. She explained in the teaser, "The cardiologist did a bunch of tests, and I'll get all those results when I go back with the heart rate monitor next week."

Danielle has previously opened up about having heart problems and feeling symptoms of what she thought was a heart attack late last year. “I thought I was having a heart attack and then not being able to go up the stairs and just not being able to do my daily normal things," she shared. "It’s been hard."

It was later revealed that Danielle did not have heart surgery, but in the Episode 8 trailer, the mother-of-six said that the look of concern on her daughters' faces makes her even more desperate to find out what's really happening with her health. "It crushes me to see my kids' faces of concern because I don't want them to worry about me," she said. "You know, you're my little girls and I can't tell them 'everything's fine,' because it's not."

Danielle continued, "But it definitely gives me that motivation to find an answer, because this isn't just for me. I mean, it's for my family. I have got to figure out what's wrong with me for them."

A sneak peek at the April 20, 2021 episode of OutDaughtered revealed it's possible Danielle could have a hole in her heart called an atrial septal defect.

“This next test that we would like to do is called a transesophageal echo," he explained, "where we actually put the probe through your throat to make sure we find the root cause for your problem."

Though she has continued to open up about her illness to her fans and followers, there still isn't much clarity as to what's going on. Hopefully the Busbys (and their fans) will have some answers soon.

OutDaughtered airs on Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET on TLC. You can catch up on past seasons of the show on the Discovery Plus app.