Many people in India suffer from a brain aneurysm. If you have a severe headache, drooping eyelids, and nausea, you must visit the best neurosurgeon in India immediately for treatment. The symptoms mentioned above mean that you have a ruptured brain aneurysm, and the condition requires immediate attention.
A brain aneurysm happens when a weak area inside your brain’s arterial wall bulges and fills with blood. It can be called a cerebral aneurysm or an intracranial aneurysm.
A brain aneurysm is a life-threatening condition that can affect people of any age. If a brain aneurysm bursts, it is an emergency that can result in brain damage, stroke, and even death if not immediately treated.
Not all aneurysms will rupture; an estimated fifty to eighty percent of all aneurysms never rupture in someone’s lifetime. Let us now understand what causes a brain aneurysm.
What causes a brain aneurysm?
Few events promote the rupture or development of an aneurysm in your brain. A study showed that the below factors might activate the rupture of an existing aneurysm:
- Excessive exercise
- Straining during bowel movements
- Intense anger
- Drinking coffee or soda
- Startling
- Sexual intercourse
Few aneurysms build throughout your lifetime, few are inherited, and some are outcomes of brain injuries.
Now that you know the causes let us move on to the symptoms.
Symptoms of a brain aneurysm
Aneurysms are unforeseen, and you might not have any signs till they rupture. Ruptured or large aneurysms will often indicate definite signs, and you will need emergency medical assistance.
The symptoms and warning signals of an aneurysm vary depending on whether it is ruptured or not. Signs of an unruptured aneurysm are:
- Pain or headache behind or above the eye, which can get mild or serious
- Double vision or blurred
- Dizziness
- Seizures
- Visual deficits
Visit your specialist immediately if you face any of these signs. Signs of a ruptured aneurysm are:
- Severe, sudden headache
- Neck stiffness
- Double vision or blurry
- Light sensitivity
- Drooping eyelid
- Problems speaking or a change in mental state and awareness
- Problems dizziness or walking
- Vomiting or nausea
- Convulsion (seizure)
- Loss of consciousness
When you have an aneurysm that is “leaking,” you may only face a severe, sudden headache. Get emergency medical attention immediately if you face one or more of such symptoms.
Who is at risk for a brain aneurysm?
Brain aneurysms can occur in anyone, yet individuals with atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries) are at more risk of getting brain aneurysms.
Also, brain aneurysms are found in individuals between thirty-five and sixty years old. Women are most likely to have aneurysms than men because of low estrogen levels after menopause. If aneurysms run within your immediate family, your chances of having one are more.
Other risk factors for brain aneurysms are:
- Older age
- Drug abuse, particularly cocaine
- Alcohol over-consumption
- Congenital issues that affect the arterial walls, like Ehlers-Danlos syndrome
- Head injury
- Cerebral arteriovenous malformation
- Congenital contraction of the aorta is called coarctation.
Treating brain aneurysms
Treatment for an aneurysm can differ depending on the location, size, and seriousness and whether it is ruptured or leaking. Pain medicines can soothe eye pain and headaches.
If the aneurysm is reachable, your specialist can fix or cut off blood flow to the aneurysm. This can stop more growth or a rupture. Few procedures are:
- Endovascular coiling, in which a catheter is placed through an artery to your aneurysm. The blood flow gets blocked, which finally closes off the aneurysm
- Surgical clipping, in which an aneurysm is closed with a metal clip
Lifestyle changes that can help you manage aneurysms are:
- Quitting smoking
- Consuming a diet of fruit, whole grains, lean meat, vegetables, and low-fat dairy items
- Regular exercise, however, not excessively
- Controlling high cholesterol or high blood pressure
What is the outlook for someone with a brain aneurysm?
Be vigilant in managing an aneurysm for symptoms of rupture. If you receive instant treatment for a rupture, your recovery rates and survival are very high than if you do not receive emergency medical assistance right away.
Recovery in the hospital from the surgery of an unruptured aneurysm is often swift. For procedures having a ruptured aneurysm, complete healing can take weeks to months. It is also possible that you may never completely recover, based on the damage’s severity.
Be alert regarding warning symptoms. If you have any risk factors, consult your neurosurgeon in India immediately for an examination.
Unruptured brain aneurysms are severe, and you must address them immediately once they are discovered. Ruptured or leaking brain aneurysms are a medical emergency. It needs critical care management from experienced doctors to ensure you get the best possible result.