Ohio State Representative Stephanie Tubbs Jones died this week in Cleveland from a brain aneurtsm that ruptured while she was driving. She was taken to the Cleveland Clinic and was unable to recover. She was only 58 years old.
Brain aneurysms are little balloon type 'pockets' that are found in the arteries. Many are in the brain but can also be found around the heart or in the legs or other areas of the body.
It is thought that about 4% of people have aneurysms (based on autopsy statistics) which is pretty staggering. Most people don't even know they have an aneurysm and live with it. Unless it ruptures, they can live to be 100 and die of other causes. Aneurysms themselves are not fatal but if they rupture, they can be - and death can be fast. About 10% of people who have an aneurysm will experience a rupture.
WebMD has a question and answer session with Howard Kirshner, MD, professor and chairman of neurology at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in Nashville. I thought I'd put it here, to educate us a little more about this mysterious but scary condition -
"What is a brain aneurysm?
"An [unruptured] aneurysm looks kind of like a balloon, an out-pouching of an artery," Kirshner says. "It almost always occurs at a point where the artery branches off."
While Tubbs Jones had a cerebral, or brain aneurysm; aneurysms can also occur in the aorta (the major artery from the heart), the leg, and other areas. Aneurysms are related to weaknesses in the blood vessel wall.
How common is a brain aneurysm?
''We think that many people have them -- up to 4% have it at autopsy," Kirshner says, citing research, but many show no symptoms. According to Kirshner, about 5% of people will develop a brain aneurysm during their lifetime, but only about 10% of them will experience a rupture.
As a crude estimate, he says, perhaps 25,000 to 50,000 people a year in the U.S. have a brain hemorrhage caused by a ruptured aneurysm. Family history plays a role, experts believe. Family members of a patient with a brain aneurysm have an increased risk of having one. Yet only a small percentage of these are related to hereditary syndromes associated with aneurysms.
Women are more likely than men to have an aneurysm, and African-Americans have more risk of hemorrhage from an aneurysm than do whites.
What are the symptoms that an aneurysm has ruptured?
Aneurysms often go undetected because they can have no symptoms until they rupture and bleed. When that happens, it can cause a sudden severe headache and sometimes nothing more than that, Kirshner says. "But it is usually not like any other headache you've had. It is very sudden or severe, the worst headache of your life." Other symptoms include severe neck pain, dizziness, nausea, and sensitivity to light.
One-third to nearly half of patients have minor hemorrhages or "warning leaks" that later lead to a severe devastating brain hemorrhage days later.
Sometimes, when an aneurysm ruptures, it can go unnoticed, with the person passing off the headache. But once it ruptures, Kirshner says, it is more likely to re-bleed.
Is there a typical age bracket for aneurysms to rupture?
"They are most common in middle age -- the 40s and 50s are the peak ages," he says. But they can happen at any age. "I've seen them in teenagers. They do occasionally occur in elderly people."
What can someone do to reduce the risk of an aneurysm growing and rupturing?
"Not smoking and treating hypertension prevent aneurysms from growing and rupturing," Kirshner says.
In general, what is the outlook for someone whose brain aneurysm bursts?
The prognosis, Kirshner says, "is very uncertain." A ruptured aneurysm can cause sudden death, he says. In general, "if you are in bad shape right in the beginning, the odds of recovery are much lower." The overall death rate once the aneurysm ruptures is about 40%, he says.
What might be done when the rupture is discovered?
Getting treatment as soon as possible is critical, he says. If it's possible to do surgery, one option is to go in surgically and put a clip across the aneurysm to stop bleeding. "An even more common surgery is to go through the artery and deploy a coil [into the aneurysm, using a tiny catheter] and the coil causes the aneurysm to shut off." The coil causes a clot to form around the sac, sealing off the aneurysm defect."
http://www.webmd.com/brain/news/20080821/aneurysms-common-sometimes-dead...
If anyone has anything to add or had their own experience, I'd love to hear it!
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Add a Comment96 Comments
I am a rupture survivor. I had two aneurysms one of which ruptured on 6/4/12. The second one had NOT ruptured but was bigger than the first one so it also had to be surgically clipped. I had two brain surgeries 10 weeks apart in the summer of 2012. My mother is also a survivor. Her's did NOT rupture. It was stumbled across for other medical issues and was surgically clipped in September of 1991. This is what we need more people to do. The Brain Aneurysm Foundation has resolutions pending on Capital Hill. Part of what's in the resolution is trying get insurance companies to make MRI's/MRA's, CT Scans yearly preventative maintenance so that we can stumble across more aneurysms BEFORE the rupture and kills. EVERYONE PLEASE HELP US TO GET ALL THOSE ON CAPITAL HILL, ESPECIALLY FROM THE STATE OF OHIO NOW BECAUSE OF THIS, to approve these resolutions as EVERYONE needs to be scanned. PLEASE HELP!!!
March 3, 2015 - 4:47amThis Comment
My dad sufferd with a brain aneurysm undetected for 44year. He came home from a night out with his mates and went to sleep fine, not complaining of a headache or any discomft but he had gotten really snappy and stressed over the previouse month or so, the next morning he got up had a cuppa then all of a sudden dropped to the floor and went into several seizers. He never recoverd from this. As his daughter I was only 20 and I carnt come to terms that no one knew or possible could of never knew. To me he was a healthy man who liked a drink every now n again.
January 30, 2015 - 3:03amThis Comment
Hi. My husband suffered a ruptured brain aneurysm 7.5mths ago. It happened during sex and I was lucky to have read an article on it a few days prior, so when it happened I picked up on his symptoms right away and rushed him to the hospital. He had to have it clipped through open brain surgery. Its scary when I think that he just wanted to go to sleep, and the doctors said if he did he probably would not have woken up.
January 26, 2015 - 8:11pmHe is healing really well. Almost back to 100%.. With the exception of one aspect of our lives.. His libido is VERY LOW. We are only 40 yrs old and since his surgery, we are only intimate once every 2mths, and only for a few minutes.
My husband is now taking blood pressure meds (Amlodipine 20mgs and Propranalol 10mgs) and I think that may be a contributing factor.
I have not really brought up the issue with my husband, because I dont want him to feel pressured or embarassed in any way, however he has mentioned to me that he just does not "feel for it" anymore. I don't want to sound crass, but is there anyone here who has experienced similar problems and can offer me some advice? I'm very nervous about bringing up the issue with my husband because its a very sensitive subject and I don't want to embarrass him or make him feel like he is "less of a man" than he was prior to the incident. I don't want to hurt his feelings, but I just wonder if his libido will come back in due time. Thanks for any advice.
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What signs were there? How did you know?
March 22, 2015 - 10:18pmThis Comment
Hi it has been 3 yrs since my spouse had his aneurysm and he had it surgically clipped which was a terrible surgery. Anyways, we always had sex multiple times weekly and he had 0 desire since the surgery. Physically he can but has no interest or even thought on the matter. We have had heated arguments which I feel badly about but I to am in my 40's and just do not k ow what to do. I had searched and read various message boards and the loss of interest in sex can happen with this type of surgey.
February 23, 2015 - 1:12pmThis Comment
I'm a man that is,on blood preasure medication and I have low T. I have little to no want for sex. My testicals have shrank. So I get where your husband is coming from. Plus I suffer from depression. The bigger the issue you make out of it the worse. Get him help if and when he wants it and just continue to support him.
February 12, 2015 - 10:03pmThis Comment
Drs say there are no symptoms. I had "symptoms" memory problems, confusion, couldn't cry, spuratic vision loss, random vomiting for about a month prior to my rupture. I had a leak. I even had a ct scan 24 hours before my rupture. So a ct doesn't tell you you have one. An MRA is necessary! mrA shows bloodflow and arteries, MRI shows brain matter.
January 7, 2015 - 10:01pmHad they found mine before the rupture they would not have operated because it was only 4 mm.
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HAVE U GUYS HAD ANY OTHER SYMPTOMS OTHER THEN HEADACHES??
January 4, 2015 - 3:10pmThis Comment
I had no headaches at all then just a weird on that sr doesn't think had tondo with the aneurysms they just happened to find them. My dad died of an aneurysm and he had headaches all his life
January 7, 2015 - 8:42pmThis Comment
My nephews wife died of a cerebral hemorrhage a week ago only 41 it was sudden I am devastated I saw her 4 Days beforehand and she seemed fine
December 27, 2014 - 3:11amThis Comment