Brain Aneurysms & How to Spot Them
Brain aneurysms kill people suddenly every
year, yet few of us know what the warning signs of this deadly attack
are. Recent estimates suggest that 90% of Americans are not sure what a
brain aneurysm really is. And because anything from between 6% to 9% of
people actually have an aneurysm, this lack of knowledge is tragic. This
necessary guide will give you important information about brain
aneurysms, telling you everything you need to know, and explaining what
you can do to spot the signs before the worst happens.
Lisa Colagrossi's story
Some of you may know the story of Emmy
Award-nominated US news anchor, Lisa Colagrossi, who died in 2015 from a
brain aneurysm, aged only 49. Lisa was a hard-working woman who began
to feel excruciating head pain. After discussing it with her husband,
she decided to let it pass and get on with her work. Sadly, she was
taken ill and died only two weeks after the initial headache passed.
Following this awful turn of events, Lisa’s
husband established the Lisa Colagrossi Foundation (LCF) to raise
public awareness about the silent killer that had taken her away from
him and their two poor children. Her husband understood that it was only
a lack of knowledge that prevented Lisa from going to the doctor before
it was too late.
This story dramatically illustrates the need for more widely-spread
knowledge about brain aneurysms.
What is a brain aneurysm?
Neurosurgeon at New York University’s
Langone Medical Center, Howard Riina, MD, describes a brain aneurysm as a
weakness of the wall in one of the brain’s blood vessels. The weakness
lets the wall form a bulge, due to the pressure of the blood running
through the vessels. When this bulge becomes over-inflated it can
rupture and seep blood into the brain tissue.
This bulge, or aneurysm, is something that anywhere from 6% to 9% of us
are walking around with, unaware that it could rupture. They can even be
seen on an MRI scan. Yet if the aneurysm is of a tolerably small size,
doctors will not recommend invasive and dangerous surgery.
When you suffer a rupture...
The frightening description above may give
you the idea of blood squirting all over the place, but the truth is not
quite so dramatic. There may be a little dribble for a few moments, but
generally a platelet plug naturally forms, according to Riina. However,
even this little trickle can be fatal. Between 30% to 50% of sufferers
die immediately after a rupture occurs.
The small blood leak irritates the brain tissues it comes into contact
with, and this drastically increases pressure within the head.
Furthermore, the loss of blood is catastrophic for the brain regions
which have lost out. These areas need a constant supply of blood to
function as they should.
Pressure and a lack of blood combine to induce either death or
unconsciousness.
Signs and symptoms of a rupture:
Here are several symptoms that have been
reported by those who have suffered a rupture:
• An excruciating headache
• Neck stiffness
• Tingling face
• Light sensitivity
• Seizures
• Weak limbs
• Blurry or double vision
• Extreme tiredness
Most of these symptoms are secondary, however, to the headache.
Colagrossi’s husband describes this as “W-H-O-L” or ‘the worst headache
of your life’. This could be felt anywhere and at any time, though it
may be felt more strongly behind the eyes. It is hard to describe this
pain, some compare it to being hit by a bolt of lightning, others have
said it felt like hearing a gun shot.
What to do:
Riina’s advice is that if you or someone
close to you experiences any of these symptoms, make an emergency call
for an ambulance or go to the hospital directly. Doctors have several
things they can do to get rid of the pressure that results from the
rupture, but that doesn’t mean that everything will be well.
Of those who receive treatment a third die, a third suffer permanent
impairment, and a further third go back to normal. The goal of the Lisa
Colagrossi Foundation is to help increase the number of people who can
go back to normal.
He says:
"If someone had been doing the work we're doing now to raise public
awareness, Lisa and millions of others would still be alive."