Let’s be honest, how many people are familiar with brain aneurysm? Even with a background in healthcare, I did not know what brain aneurysms were all about except for the definition. Often, we find ourselves becoming quite familiar with a condition once we experience it either directly or indirectly.

According to WebMD, https://www.webmd.com/brain/brain-aneurysm#1 , brain aneurysm is defined as below:

Think of a weak spot in a balloon and how it feels stretched out and thin. A brain aneurysm is like that. It’s a weak spot in the wall of a blood vessel inside the brain.

That area of the blood vessel gets worn out from constant flow of blood and bulges out, almost like a bubble. It can grow to the size of a small berry.

Although brain aneurysms sound alarming, most don’t cause symptoms or health problems. You can enjoy a long life without ever realizing that you have a brain aneurysm.

But in rare cases, aneurysms can grow big, leak, or explode. Bleeding in the brain, known as hemorrhagic stroke, is very serious and requires urgent medical care.

A ruptured brain aneurysm can be life-threatening and lead to:

• cerebral vasospasm (reduced blood flow to the brain)
• hydrocephalus  (too much spinal fluid in the brain)
• coma
• permanent brain damage