5 Things To Know About Brain Aneurysm, Risk Factors

As Filipinos mourn the passing of actress Isabel Granada due to complications from a brain aneurysm, more and more people are asking about what causes it, how to diagnose it and how to prevent it. The actress’ untimely death also gave rise to the Isabel Granada Aneurysm Awareness Foundation which seeks to increase public awareness about the illness.

Globally, the Brain Aneurysm Foundation takes the lead in spreading information about the condition that affects over 6 million Americans a year or 1 in 50 Americans.

What Is A Brain Aneurysm?

According to the Mayo Clinic, a brain aneurysm is a “bulge or ballooning in a blood vessel in the brain.” Oftentimes, they do not rupture, and rupture is quite rare: 10 in 100,000 Americans, according to BAF. However, when aneurysms do rupture, this can lead to internal bleeding in the brain and hemorrhagic stroke. When this happens, it is either fatal or can cause lifelong neurological damage.

Here are 5 things about brain aneurysms that you should know:

1. Brain aneurysms are more likely to form in people with several risk factors. These include smoking, high blood pressure or hypertension, a family history of brain aneurysms (Isabel Granada’s dad also died of a brain aneurysm rupture), aged over 40, history of drug use, tumors and a traumatic head injury. Women are more likely to develop them compared to men. The rupture of aneurysms is usually associated with smoking and hypertension.

2. A person experiencing a ruptured aneurysm will have the following symptoms: onset of extremely severe headache, nausea and vomiting, fainting, blurred vision, seizure, stiff neck, light sensitivity and change in mental state. This person needs to be rushed to the hospital immediately.

3. Diagnosis can usually be done through a CT Scan or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Usually, those who have a family history of aneurysms need to consult a doctor as they have a high risk.

4. Treatment differs on the type of aneurysm. Unruptured aneurysms have a lower risk but still need to be monitored especially looking at the health habits of the patients. Open brain surgery is the primary treatment for ruptured aneurysms.

5. The causes of aneurysms cannot be pinpointed to what one eats or what one does. However, the risk factors associated with it point to one thing – living a healthy life with a balanced diet, enough physical activity as well as wellness activities is one way to keep aneurysms from developing.