What is an Aneurysm of the Brain?
Aneurysm of the brain, also called cerebral aneurysm, is a common disorder caused by a weakness in the wall of a brain artery. This weakness results thinning of the artery wall and a budging or ballooning out of the vessel. Aneurysms can occur at any age, but are more common in adults than in children. Aneurysms occur in two - five percent of the entire population, but are often asymptomatic.
Physicians at Stanford University Medical Center treat hundreds patients with brain aneurysms each year. It is one of the largest referral centers on the west coast for patients with aneurysms.
Risk Factors for Developing Aneurysms
There are many risk factors for developing aneurysms. Some of these risk factors are not able to be modified, such as gender, race and family history.
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Women are three times more likely than men to have aneurysms.
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There is a slightly higher incidence of aneurysms in African Americans than Caucasians, Hispanics and Asians.
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Having a family history of aneurysms can increase the risk of developing them as well.
Risk factors that can be modified to prevent the development of aneurysms include high blood pressure, smoking and high cholesterol levels.
Symptoms of Aneurysms
Patients often don’t even know they have an aneurysm until it bleeds. Symptoms can include:
- Nausea and vomiting
- Neck pain and/or confusion
- Suddenly collapse and lose consciousness
- Sudden onset of the worst headache they’ve ever had (for ruptured aneurysm patients)
Rupture of a brain aneurysm is life-threatening and emergency medical attention is necessary.
Unruptured aneurysms may be asymptomatic and never cause a problem. They are often found incidentally, when an MRI or CT scan of the head is done for various reasons.
As aneurysms enlarge, they can cause symptoms including:
- heachaches
- vision changes
- stroke symptoms.
Treatment Options
Stanford University Medical Center offers the most up to date treatment options available to offer safe, state of the art treatment options for patients with brain aneurysms. Fortunately, most unruptured aneurysms can be treated safely either with surgery or coil embolization.
It’s best to treat an aneurysm before it ruptures, but sometimes they are not found until after they bleed. Treatment of ruptured aneurysms pose much higher risks for patients, but therapies have dramatically improved in recent years allowing for lower risk treatment and better outcomes.