Savannah LaPrad Brain AneurysmsBrain Aneurysms

The Basics ▪A brain aneurysm is a weak or thin spot within a blood vessel of the brain that balloons out and fills with blood. ▪The blood vessel could leak or rupture and cause hemorrhaging. ▪Cerebral aneurysms can occur anywhere in the brain, but most are located along a loop of arteries that run between the underside of the brain and the base of the skull. ▪Aneurysm classifications: –Saccular: a rounded or pouch-like sac of blood that is attached by a neck or stem to an artery or a branch of a blood vessel. –Lateral: appears as a bulge on one wall of the blood vessel. –Fusiform: formed by, the widening along all walls of the vessel.

Saccular Aneurysm Both images from: mayoclinic.com Image from: nethealthbook.com

Etiology and Epidemiology Abnormality in the arterial wall Connective tissue disorders Polycystic kidney disease Congenital Injury toward the head Trauma High blood pressure Atherosclerosis Tumors Infection Cigarette smoking Drug abuse Other issues An estimated 6 million people in the United States have an un-ruptured brain aneurysm, or 1 in 50 people.

Signs and Symptoms – How Do You Know? ▪Most brain aneurysms do not show symptoms until they become very large or they burst. ▪Enlargement of a brain aneurysm a person will experience these symptoms: –Pain above and behind eye. –Numbness, weakness, or paralysis of one side of the face. –Dilated pupils –Vision change ▪When a brain aneurysm hemorrhages a person will experience these symptoms: –Sudden and severe headache –Nausea –Double vision –Vomiting –Stiff neck –May experience loss of consciousness. CT is the best imaging modality of choice for brain aneurysms!

Microvascular clipping ▪Skull is removed and the surgeon locates the aneurysm. ▪A small, clothes-pin like clip is placed on the aneurysms neck. ▪The clip remains inside the patient to prevent it from hemorrhaging. Endovascular embolization ▪A catheter is fed through (most often) the artery within the groin area using angiography. ▪The catheter is then fled through the body to the site of the aneurysm. ▪Using a guide wire and coils, which are passed through the catheter and into the aneurysm. ▪The coil blocks the circulation to the aneurysm and causes it to clot which destroys it. Ruptured brain aneurysms are fatal in 40% of cases. 4 out of 7 people who recover from their ruptured brain aneurysm have some type of disability. Some aneurysms will never rupture causing no specific prognosis.

References Brain Aneurysm Statistics and Facts | The Brain Aneurysm Foundation Office of Communications and Public Liaison, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, & National Institutes of Health. (2015, February 23). Cerebral Aneurysms Fact Sheet. Retrieved May 25, 2016, from