Brain Aneurysm Basics That Can Save your life.

What Is A Brain Aneurysm?
A brain aneurysm 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.

Brain Aneurysm Statistics

• 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 per 100,000 people or about 30,000 people in the United States.
• There is a brain aneurysm rupturing every 18 minutes.
• There are almost 500,000 deaths worldwide each year caused by brain aneurysms and half the victims are younger than 50.
• About 40% of all people who have a ruptured brain aneurysm will die as a result. Of those who survive, about 66% will suffer some permanent deficit.
• 4 out of 7 people who recover from a ruptured brain aneurysm will have disabilities.
• Brain aneurysms are most prevalent in people ages 35 – 60, but can occur in children as well.
• Women, more than men, suffer from brain aneurysms at a ratio of 3:2.
• Ruptured brain aneurysms account for 3 – 5% of all new strokes.

Warning Signs/Symptoms
Unruptured

• Localized headache
• Dilated pupil
• Blurred or double vision
• Pain above and behind the eye
• Weakness and numbness
• Difficulty speaking

Ruptured
Localized or diffuse headache associated with one
or more of the following:

• Sudden severe headache, the worst headache of your life
• Loss of consciousness
• Nausea and vomiting
• Stiff neck
• Sudden blurred or double vision
• Sudden pain above/behind the eye or difficulty seeing
• Sudden change in mental status or awareness
• Sudden trouble walking or dizziness
• Sudden weakness and numbness
• Sensitivity to light (photophobia)
• Seizure
• Drooping eyelid

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 Disease, Marfan's Syndrome, Fibromuscular Dysplasia(FMD)
• Presence of an arteriovenous malformation (AVM)
• Drug use, particularly cocaine
• Infection
• Tumors
• Traumatic head injury