Cerebral Aneurisms Essay

Submitted By stmcmill
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Pages: 7
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The scary thing about cerebral aneurysms is that they can happen to anyone, at any age, at any time. According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), ruptured aneurysms occur in about 10 in every 100,000 persons per year, which equates to about 30,000 individuals per year in the United States. Although more prevalent in adults from ages 30-60, particularly women, anyone can be affected by this terrifying experience. What exactly is a cerebral aneurysm, you ask? It is a weak or thin spot on a blood vessel in the brain that expands and fills with blood. Over time, the aneurysm will put pressure on a nerve or any surrounding brain tissue (A.D.A.M. Medical Encyclopedia). Once the vessel has completely filled with blood and fluids, it is only a matter of time until it ruptures. This occurrence is called a cerebral hemorrhage and it can take place anywhere in the brain. The hemorrhage can come from a ruptured vein or a burst blood vessel. Unfortunately, I am very familiar with this disorder because my mother experienced a cerebral aneurysm at the age of 45. My mother was a very active and healthy woman with no prior medical problems. She is a prime example for the argument that this disorder can happen to anyone.
Cerebral aneurysms have the possibility of being congenital, which means the affected person is born with the disorder resulting from an abnormality in an artery wall in the brain. Others simply have a run with bad luck and experience the event with no prior medical issues. Cerebral aneurysms are more prevalent in people with certain genetic diseases, which include tissue or circulatory disorders such as Arteriovenous Malformations (snarled tangles of arteries and veins in the brain that disrupt blood flow) (NINDS). Other possible scenarios stem from brain traumas, high blood pressure, infections, tumors, or other issues such as drug abuse (NINDS).
The thought of something going wrong in your brain is absolutely terrifying, especially when it is life threatening and causes permanent damage. Irreparable damage from a cerebral aneurysm is most likely to occur when the blood circulates through the brain. The circulating blood could cause permanent damage tied to memory and motor functions. In addition to bleeding in the brain, strokes are very prevalent, which can also cause permanent nerve damage and even death. Subarachnoid hemorrhages, which cause bleeding in the space between the skull and brain, are also very common. These hemorrhages cause a blockage of cerebrospinal fluid in the ventricles, causing them to swell and press against the brain tissue. Vasospasms, a condition where blood from a previously ruptured aneurysm is irritated and causes nearby blood vessels to spasm, also occur. This condition limits blood flow throughout the brain because the brain contracts and can cause stroke or tissue damage (NINDS).
According to data, 50% of patients die instantly upon rupture. My mother was lucky enough to be able to walk home from her run, take a nap, and function for a total of five hours by the time her vein ruptured. The symptoms of a cerebral aneurysm can be misconstrued to a simple case of the flu, which is what my father and I believed my mother had at the time. Boy, were we wrong. This is a common problem with cerebral aneurysms because the symptoms are not present until they become very large or burst, which was the case with my mother. The most prevalent symptom of an aneurysm is an enormous headache. My mother described hers as the “worst headache she has ever endured.” Additional symptoms are nausea, vomiting, stiffness in the neck and back, loss of consciousness, and difficulty with vision. Seizures are also a common symptom of aneurysms, which could lead to becoming comatose (NINDS).
As a result of the lack of symptoms that occur prior to hemorrhaging, many cerebral aneurysms go unnoticed until hemorrhage. Although uncommon, there are several methods available to provide
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