A brain aneurysm, also referred to as a cerebral aneurysm or intracranial aneurysm (IA), is a weak bulging spot on the wall of a brain artery very much like a thin balloon or weak spot on an inner tube. Over time, the blood flow within the artery pounds against the thinned portion of the wall and aneurysms form silently from wear and tear on the arteries. As the artery wall becomes gradually thinner from the dilation, the bloo...

To understand aneurysms, it is helpful to understand the circulatory system of the brain. The heart pumps oxygen- and nutrient-laden blood to the brain, face, and scalp via two major sets of vessels: the internal carotid arteries and the vertebral arteries. The jugular and other veins bring blood out of the brain.

The carotid arteries run along the front of the neck – one on the left and one on the right. They are what you feel...

• An estimated 6 million people in the United States have an unruptured brain aneurysm, or 1 in 50 people.

• The annual rate of rupture is approximately 8 – 10 per 100,000 people or about 30,000 people in the United States suffer a brain aneurysm rupture. There is a brain aneurysm rupturing every 18 minutes. Ruptured brain aneurysms are fatal in about 40% of cases. Of those who survive, about 66% suffer some permanent ne...

Seek Medical Attention Immediately If You Are Experiencing Some Or All Of The Symptoms Listed Under Warning Signs/Symptoms.

If you begin to experience symptoms of a ruptured aneurysm, CALL 911. We do not encourage you to allow a family member to take you in a private vehicle to the hospital. This is a high stress situation that may require the paramedics to execute lifesaving procedures in the emergency vehicle. Patients who pr...

Risk factors that doctors and researchers believe contribute to the formation of brain aneurysms:

• Smoking

• High blood pressure or hypertension

• Congenital resulting from inborn abnormality in artery wall

• Family history of brain aneurysms

• Age over 40

• Gender, women compared with men have an increased incidence of aneurysms at a ratio of 3:2

• Other disorders: Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, Polycystic Kidney...

Brain aneurysms can be similar to heart attacks. Just like a person may have no warning of an impending heart attack, there almost is never a warning that a brain aneurysm is about to rupture. Fortunately, through imaging screening techniques, individuals at high risk of harboring a brain aneurysm can be identified easily with non-invasive imaging tests.

Risk factors for developing brain aneurysms include cigarette use, disorde...

• Familial intracranial aneurysms are generally defined as the presence of two or more family members among first- and second-degree relatives with proven aneurysmal SAH (subarachnoid hemorrhage) or incidental aneurysms.

• The incidence of familial aneurysms among SAH patients is 6% to 20%.

• Familial intracranial aneurysm is defined as two or more blood relatives who possess intracranial aneurysms.

• The familial o...

With important medical advances throughout the neurosurgical/neurological and endovascular fields, treatment for brain aneurysms is more promising than it was several years ago. There are more effective and less invasive treatment options for patients, who in years past, would have been told they had inoperable aneurysms. Decisions regarding management of an unruptured brain aneurysm are based on the careful comparison of the...

The recovery following treatment of an intracranial aneurysm is dependent on many factors, including whether the aneurysm has bled and the type of treatment for the aneurysm.

If an aneurysm presents with a subarachnoid hemorrhage, the length of hospitalization and recovery are dictated by the severity of the hemorrhage and not by the treatment modality. Following a subarachnoid hemorrhage, most patients will remain hospitalized...