According to the Mayo Clinic, a brain aneurysm "can leak or rupture, causing bleeding into the brain (hemorrhagic stroke)." A ruptured brain aneurysm can be life-threatening. About 15 percent of people will experience a brain aneurysm at some point in their life, according to brainaneurysm.com.
Definitions
A pseudo (or false) brain aneurysm is "an expansion of a blood vessel wall that does not involve all layers of the wall," says brain-aneurysm.com. "Most commonly, it involves the outermost layers of the brain artery only, and usually follows injury or tearing of the vessel wall," A true brain aneurysm, then, is defined as involving all layers of the wall. It is an abnormal bulging or ballooning out of a blood vessel in the brain.
Symptoms
According to Web MD, symptoms of a ruptured brain aneurysm include sudden and severe headaches, neck pain or stiffness, blurred or double vision, nausea and vomiting, sensitivity to light, fainting or loss of consciousness and seizures. Other symptoms include a dilated pupil in one eye, visual field defects, pain above or behind the eye, a drooping eyelid or pain in the temple or back of the skull.
Causes
Among the causes of brain aneurysms are atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries), aging, family history, previous aneurysm, gender, race, hypertension (high blood pressure) and smoking. Other causes include trauma, tumors and drug abuse. Mycotic aneurysms (infections of the artery wall) are more rare.
Exams and Tests
Several tests are available to diagnose a brain aneurysm, including a CT scan, a CTA scan (computerized tomography angiogram), MRA (magnetic resonance angiography) and a cerebral angiogram. A CTA scan, according to Web MD, is a "more precise method of evaluating blood vessels than a standard CT scan." A special dye is used to produce images of the blood vessels in the CTA scan. Another test is a lumbar puncture (spinal tap) to look for the presence of blood in the spinal fluid.
Treatment
The size of the aneurysm will determine the course of treatment. If your aneurysm is small, your doctor may just want to observe the condition for a while. But your doctor may advise surgery if you have a large aneurysm that is causing a lot of pain and other symptoms.
Tags: brain aneurysm, blood vessel, blood vessels, layers wall, ruptured brain, ruptured brain aneurysm