Brain Aneurysms: What You Should Know

After recently finding out that my mom had a brain aneurysm, and successfully having it clipped by her brain surgeon, I've been inspired to know more about them. What are they, who gets them, and how they can be prevented.

A brain aneurysm is a very scary and potentially deadly growth that can happen to any one of us, and often times they are found while doctors are looking for something else entirely. In my mom's case, they were trying to figure out where her chronic head aches were coming from, and while they've ruled out the aneurysm as a possible source, we are all lucky and thankful that the aneurysm was found and treated before it became life threatening.

Brain aneurysms are caused by small masses of built up tissue around the arteries in your brain. The aneurysm itself most often resembles a small round berry, and when they are small they will often go unnoticed and provide no symptoms. However, if the aneurysm gets larger it can cause pressure on nerves in the brain creating symptoms such as blurred vision or pain behind the eye, numbness in the face, and drooping in the eyelids. If ruptured, they can cause severe brain damage and even death. Approximately 2-5% of all Americans may develop a brain aneurysm in their lifetime, but most are so small that they remain unnoticed and do not pose a problem to one's health.

Aneurysms are slightly more common in women than men, and are more common in adults than children. They are often caused by the normal aging of your arteries, but growth can also be caused by such things as smoking, high blood pressure, kidney disease and connective tissue disorders. Aneurysms can also be hereditary. If two or more close relatives have had brain aneurysms, it is likely that you may develop one as well. Oddly enough however, brain aneurysms are not usually cased by head trauma.

Potential prevention methods include not smoking, limiting the use of caffeine, avoiding strenuous activities, and avoiding medications that encourage blood clotting. If you have a history of brain aneurysms in your family, it is important that your primary care doctor be aware of it, and you may want to discuss having regular screenings to detect aneurysms as they may otherwise go unnoticed.

If you do find out you have a aneurysm, there are a few things to keep in mind. Most aneurysms are small enough that they will not rupture. However no matter how big or small, If I found out I had an aneurysm, I would want it taken care of. Thankfully, my mother's doctor has the same approach. There are a few ways to treat an existing aneurysm, but each depends on the size of the aneurysm, the location of it, and of course your health. Aneurysms can be clipped or coiled which will prevent further growth, and cause scar tissue to build up around the area of the aneurysm itself thus making it stronger, and relatively unlikely to burst. According to my mom's doctor, once the surgery has been performed to either clip or coil an aneurysm, and once your healing time from the surgery is over, you are more or less in the clear for it ever causing you any trouble past that point.

So, while a brain aneurysm is a very serious and life threatening health concern for us all, it is comforting to know that the likelihood of one having one rupture in our lifetime is very small. Take precautions, live a healthy life, and if you feel like something is wrong with your body, consult your doctor. Many brain aneurysms are found while looking for something else entirely, and while we never look forward to hearing bad news, there is great comfort and peace of mind in knowing that a problem that could have been very serious, can also be taken care of through simple surgery.