Brain aneurysm

What is a brain aneurysm?

The risk of an aneurysm is that it can rupture and bleed.
It is not exactly known why one person develops an aneurysm and another does not. We know that it has to do with the wear and tear of the blood vessels and that people with high blood pressure and people who smoke are at greater risk. An aneurysm is not hereditary. However, there are families in which an aneurysm is more common. There are a few rare hereditary diseases that more often cause an aneurysm of the brain.
You can compare an aneurysm to a bicycle tire with a hole in the tire and the inner tube bulging outwards. The aneurysm can rupture and cause a brain hemorrhage (subarachnoid hemorrhage).

• There is a thin area in the wall of a brain artery from birth. You can see this in the picture.
• The blood pressure causes a “lump” on the thin spot in the vascular wall.
• The aneurysm can rupture and bleed.
• The vein may contract in a spasm.

How common is a brain aneurysm?

International studies have shown that approximately 2 in 100 people have a cerebral aneurysm. In the Netherlands, we know that approximately 7 out of 100,000 people with a brain aneurysm suffer from a hemorrhage. This means that most brain aneurysms do not hemorrhage.

How does a brain aneurysm arise?

At the moment of the bleeding, head and/or neck pain suddenly occurs. Usually this goes hand in hand with nausea and vomiting. You may fall unconscious. Sometimes there are epileptic spasms in arms and legs or symptoms of paralysis.

In many cases, a brain aneurysm is discovered by accident, for example when investigating another symptom or disorder.
 
There are also brain aneurysms that cause neurological dysfunctions because they are continuing to grow larger. That is because it presses against the brain, brain stem, or cranial nerves.
Symptoms arise depending on the area or the nerve that gets pressed into.