What Is a Brain Aneurysm?
Being diagnosed with a brain aneurysm is scary. It's like having a ticking time bomb in your head. An aneurysm has few symptoms until it has grown large or ruptured. You can go your entire life with an aneurysm and never notice anything, or it can burst and kill you. About 3 to 5 percent of Americans get aneurysms. If an aneurysm ruptures, it can cause a stroke, nerve damage and death.
Identification
A brain aneurysm is a weak spot on one of the blood vessels in the brain. Because of the weakness, that particular spot will balloon out and fill with blood. The pressure from the ballooning can affect surrounding nerves or brain tissue. The blood vessel can also rupture, causing bleeding in the brain. Though aneurysms can occur anywhere , the most common location is on one of the cluster of arteries that run between the base of the skull and the underside of the brain.
Primary Cause
Most of the time, aneurysms are due to genetics--being born with the weakness in the artery that makes it more susceptible to an aneurysm. Studies have found that people with connective tissue disorders, polycystic kidney disease and certain circulatory disorders, such as arteriovenous malformations, are more likely to get aneurysms.
Other Possible Causes
Other potential causes for aneurysms include head trauma, cancer, high blood pressure, infection, tumors, atherosclerosis, cigarette smoking, and drug abuse. Oral contraceptives have also been a suspected cause.
Types of Brain Aneurysms
A saccular aneurysm is a sac of blood attached by a neck to a blood vessel. A lateral aneurysm is a bulge on a blood vessel wall. A fusiform aneurysm is formed when all of the walls of the blood vessel bulge. Aneurysms also fall into three size classifications: small (under 11mm in diameter), larger (11mm to 25mm in diameter) and giant (greater than 25mm in diameter).
Symptoms
Aneurysms typically have no symptoms unless they rupture. However, if the aneurysm pushes on particular organs surrounding it, there may be warning symptoms before it ruptures. These symptoms include loss of vision, double vision, headaches, pain behind the eyes, drooping eyelids, nausea, vomiting, speech impairment seizures and neck pains.
Tags: blood vessel, 25mm diameter, blood pressure, Brain Aneurysm, brain aneurysm, What Brain, What Brain Aneurysm
