What Are The Treatments For An Aneurysm
Treatment typically depends on the location and type of aneurysm.
For example, a weak area of a vessel in your chest and abdomen may require a type of surgery called an endovascular stent graft. This minimally invasive procedure may be chosen over traditional open surgery because it involves repairing and reinforcing damaged blood vessels. The procedure also reduces the chance of infection, scarring, and other problems.
Other treatments can include medications that treat high blood pressure and high cholesterol. Certain types of beta-blockers may also be prescribed to lower blood pressure. Lowering your blood pressure may keep your aneurysm from rupturing.
So What Does All This Mean Then As Far As Unleashing Emotions
Not to say that you should go ahead and get angry all the time, but it is okay to get excited about your football team every now and then, says Dr. Gashti.
Stress is a risk factor for high blood pressure , and that acute stress can cause a dramatic rise, though its a temporary rise.
However, the transient nature of it can still have a devastating effect on a severely weakened aortic wall.
In fact, chronic hypertension can actually cause the aneurysm in the first place.
Hypertension even for people with healthy aortas can become a very serious, even life threatening condition.
Its a powerful risk factor for stroke and heart disease, plus dementia and other major conditions.
What is medial cystic necrosis? This refers to a variety of metabolic conditions that affect the composition and structure of the middle layer of an aortic wall, says Dr. Gashti, by altering collagen, elastin, etc. This is seen in connective tissue disorders like Marfans syndrome, he points out.
He adds: The most common consequence of this is aortic dissection; more than 90% of deaths in this group is related to aortic dissection, rupture, and sudden death.
Aneurysms can also form in patients with this condition, but the incidence of that is low.
Dr. Gashtispecializes in the diagnosis and treatment of vascular disease including abdominal and aortic aneurysm.
;
Copyright Notice
Disclaimer
Website Advertising Disclaimer
Can Stress Cause A Brain Aneurysm
While stress cant cause a brain aneurysm, it can play a major role in the recovery of a patient after treatment.
Symptoms of a brain aneurysm include nausea, severe headaches, sensitivity to light, seizures, loss of consciousness and more. Treatment for this condition includes surgery and medication. Surgery will attempt to close off the brain aneurysm to prevent future ruptures.
Stress has a large impact on the symptoms of brain aneurysms and the side effects of surgery. Some of the symptoms, such as seizures, headaches and confusion, can be worsened by anxiety. The side effects of surgery such as hair loss, headaches and fatigue can also worsen with stress.
Many of the side effects of surgery are part of the healing process, but their severity can be lowered by avoiding stressful situations and practicing relaxation techniques. In some cases, anxiety medications may be prescribed.
Don’t Miss: Why Does Stress Cause Hair Loss
How Are Brain Aneurysms Treated
Surgery and/or endovascular therapy are the treatment for brain aneurysms, whether they are ruptured or unruptured.
Open surgical clipping
During this procedure, your surgeon cuts a small opening in your skull to access the aneurysm. Using a tiny microscope and instruments, your surgeon attaches a small metal clip at the base of the aneurysm to pinch it off. This blocks blood from flowing into the aneurysm. The surgery can stop a brain bleed or keep an intact aneurysm from breaking open. Recovery time is different for ruptured and unruptured aneurysms. This procedure is considered to be durable with a low recurrence rate.
Endovascular therapy
For this procedure, your surgeon doesnt need to create an opening in your skull. Instead, a doctor inserts a catheter in a blood vessel, usually in the groin or wrist, and threads it to your brain.
Through the catheter, your doctor places a ball of wires , most often made of platinum, in the aneurysm, sometimes with the help of small stents or balloons. Recently another small device , which looks like a mesh ball, made of nickel titanium, also became available, and works in a similar fashion as coils. Both methods result in blood clot formation around and inside the wire ball or web device, and block blood flow into the aneurysm, reducing or eliminating the risk of rupture.
Who Performs The Procedure
Surgical clipping of a cerebral aneurysm is always performed by a neurosurgeon, often one with expertise in cerebrovascular disease. Most cerebrovascular neurosurgeons have had five to seven years of general neurosurgery training and an additional one to two years of specialized cerebrovascular training.
Endovascular coiling is done either by a neurosurgeon or by an interventional neuroradiologist. An interventional radiologist has undergone extensive training in both radiology and interventional procedures involving the brain and spinal cord. All neurosurgeons that perform endovascular coiling have undergone additional training in endovascular techniques in addition to full neurosurgery training .
You May Like: How To Not Stress About Life
Before A Burst: What You Need To Know About Aortic Aneurysms
Everyone knows that a healthy lifestyle can prevent heart disease and high blood pressure, but did you know that it can also help you avoid an aortic aneurysm? This lesser-known condition can quickly become an emergency, so it is important to learn about the symptoms of aortic aneurysms and take steps to prevent their formation.
Can You Fully Recover From An Aneurysm
It will take 3 to 6 weeks to fully recover. If you had bleeding from your aneurysm this may take longer. You may feel tired for up to 12 or more weeks. If you had a stroke or brain injury from the bleeding, you may have permanent problems such as trouble with speech or thinking, muscle weakness, or numbness.
Also Check: How Can Stress Affect Your Period
Can You Get A Brain Aneurysm From Stress
Cerebral or brain aneurysm involves weak and bulging area in the artery wall, which is responsible for the supply of blood into brain. In a majority of cases, brain aneurysm does not include any symptom and goes on in an unnoticed condition.
In rare cases, ruptures take place resulting in the release of blood into brain skull and causing the problem of stroke. Ruptures of brain aneurysm results in SAH i.e. subarachnoid hemorrhage. Depending on SAH severity, patients may suffer from severe damage or even die. Brain aneurysms usually take place in the blood vessels network present at the base of human brain referred as Willis circle.
What Can I Do To Reduce My Risk Of Having Another Brain Aneurysm
Taking care of your overall health is the best thing you can do to prevent future aneurysms. Steps you can take include:
- Eat a healthy diet, limit caffeine and avoid stimulant drugs.
- Quit smoking.
- Manage conditions that contribute to high blood pressure.
- Talk to your healthcare provider about lifestyle changes you can make and medications that may help.
Summary
A sudden, severe headache with or without stroke symptoms could be a sign of a brain aneurysm. A ruptured brain aneurysm is a serious, life-threatening condition that needs immediate medical attention and emergency treatment. If you have an unruptured brain aneurysm, talk with your healthcare provider about the risks and benefits of different treatment and management options.
Last reviewed by a Cleveland Clinic medical professional on 04/26/2020.
References
Recommended Reading: Can Stress And Anxiety Cause Afib
What Is The Usual Damage To The Brain After An Aneurysm Bleeds
Once an aneurysm bleeds, the chance of death is about 40% and the chance of some brain damage is about 66 %, even if the aneurysm is treated. If the aneurysm isnt treated quickly enough, another bleed may occur from the already ruptured aneurysm.
Vasospasm is a common complication following a ruptured aneurysm. This can lead to further brain damage. Other problems may include hydrocephalus , difficulty breathing that requires a mechanical ventilator, and infection.
Why is the damage so extensive after bleeding? After blood enters the brain and the space around it, direct damage to the brain tissue and brain function results. The amount of damage is usually related to the amount of blood. Damage is due to the increased pressure and swelling from bleeding directly into the brain tissue, or from local cellular damage to brain tissue from irritation of blood in the space between the brain and the skull.
Blood can also irritate and damage the normal blood vessels and cause vasospasm . This can interrupt normal blood flow to the healthy brain tissue and can cause even more brain damage. This is called an ischemic stroke.;
Will treating a ruptured aneurysm reverse or improve brain damage? Once an aneurysm bleeds and brain damage occurs, treating the aneurysm will not reverse the damage. Treatment helps prevent more bleeding.
Signs & Symptoms Of Aneurysm
Mostly aneurysms show no symptoms until they are too big and start pressing against nearby areas causing intense pain with following symptoms:
-
Aortic aneurysms – acute pain in chest area, abdomen and in between shoulder blades/back
-
Thoracic aneurysms – pressure against lungs and airways resulting in gruff voice, shortness of breath, hoarseness, harsh cough and problems with swallowing
-
Brain aneurysm – headaches, giddiness and problems with vision, hearing etc
Commonly after rupture of aneurism and heart attack, stroke, and shock etc, aneurysm presence is identified.
Don’t Miss: How To Avoid Stress Acne
What Are The Potential Complications Of Aneurysm Treatment
Until the aneurysm is safely and completely treated, theres always the risk it may re-bleed and cause more brain damage. If normal blood vessels are damaged, it could also result in more brain damage.
What follow-up is required after aneurysm treatment? Depending on the type of treatment, the two follow-up procedures are:
- Surgical clipping.After this type of surgery, a post-operative angiogram is usually performed during the hospital stay to make sure the surgical clip has completely treated the aneurysm.
- Neurointerventionalist/neuroradiologist.After coiling an aneurysm, a routine follow-up angiogram is usually performed six to 12 months after the procedure to make sure the aneurysm remains blocked off
Written by American Heart Association editorial staff and reviewed by science and medicine advisers. See our editorial policies and staff.
Are Aneurysms Always Fatal
Ruptured brain aneurysms are fatal in about 50% of cases. Of those who survive, about 66% suffer some permanent neurological deficit. Approximately 15% of people with a ruptured aneurysm die before reaching the hospital. Most of the deaths are due to rapid and massive brain injury from the initial bleeding.
Don’t Miss: How Much Stress Do I Have
Who Should Get Treatment For A Brain Aneurysm
A leaking or ruptured brain aneurysm requires emergency surgery. But you might only find out about a brain aneurysm when you have an imaging test for an unrelated condition.
If you have a small brain aneurysm that isnt causing symptoms, and you do not have other relevant risk factors, your healthcare provider may recommend not treating it. Instead, your provider will order regular imaging tests to rule out any change or growth over time. They will also recommend you quit smoking and require that your blood pressure control is under control. Youll need to get help right away if you develop symptoms, or aneurysm change/growth occurs on follow-up imaging.
If you have symptoms, positive risk factors, and/or the aneurysm is large, you and your healthcare provider will discuss the benefits, risks and alternatives of surgical and/or endovascular treatment. The decision depends on several factors, including but not limited to your:
- Age
- Risk of a brain bleed
Can Stress Cause Brain Aneurysm Worried About It
Ask U.S. doctors your own question and get educational, text answers â it’s anonymous and free!
Ask U.S. doctors your own question and get educational, text answers â it’s anonymous and free!
HealthTap doctors are based in the U.S., board certified, and available by text or video.
Don’t Miss: What Is The Best Essential Oil For Stress And Anxiety
What Symptoms Should I Look For
Symptoms of an aneurysm vary with each type and location. Its important to know that aneurysms that occur in the body or brain generally dont present signs or symptoms until they rupture.
Aneurysms that occur near the surface of the body may show signs of swelling and pain. A large mass may also develop. The symptoms of ruptured aneurysms anywhere in the body can include:
- bleeding
What Happens To Your Body When You Have A Brain Aneurysm
The blood can cause direct damage to surrounding cells, and the bleeding can damage or kill other cells. It also increases pressure inside the skull. If the pressure becomes too elevated, the blood and oxygen supply to the brain may be disrupted to the point that loss of consciousness or even death may occur.
Don’t Miss: Can Stress Cause Heart Problems
What Can Cause Aneurysms
The common causes for aneurysm and heart problems result from unhealthy life style resulting in;
-
High blood pressure
-
Smoking;
-
Stress;
These causes result in build-up of aneurysm, its growth leading to rupture of aneurysm. Heart aneurysms can happen just after a major heart attack in scarred/dead left ventricle tissues and rupture of this aneurysm is almost fatal.;
Everyday Ways To Have A Brain Bleed
Sex can be a leading risk factor for aneurysm rupture, study finds.
8 Everyday Events May Trigger Brain Bleeds
May 5, 2011 — Somewhere in the middle of belting out “Total Eclipse of the Heart,” Lauren Marks’ life changed forever. A cranial aneurysm, silent and symptomless until that fateful night in a Scottish karaoke bar, ruptured, causing hemorrhaging in parts of her brain.
Within hours this 27-year-old graduate student would wake up from emergency brain surgery to find that she could no longer read and could barely speak coherently. The bleeding in her skull had damaged parts of her brain associated with language, leaving her with acquired aphasia, a loss of the ability to use or understand words.
Although smoking, hypertension, being female or having a family history of aneurysms are all chronic risk factors for these abnormal blood-filled bulges — which can show up in a CT scan — less is known about what causes a longstanding aneurysm to rupture.
New research from the Netherlands, published Thursday, offers some insight into how certain everyday activities and emotional states, such as having sex, drinking caffeinated drinks and being startled can increase the likelihood of an aneurysm erupting.
A brain aneurysm rupture such as Marks’ occurs when a section of brain artery becomes weakened, resulting in stroke or hemorrhaging.
The following are the eight routine activities that researchers found to be associated with an increased risk of aneurysm rupture.
You May Like: How To Manage Anger And Stress
No Link Seen Between Stressful Events Stroke
By Amy Norton, Reuters Health
4 Min Read
NEW YORK – Despite the common belief that high stress can trigger a stroke, a new study finds no evidence that distressing life events raise the risk of a particularly deadly type of stroke.
The study, published in the journal Stroke, looked at the relationship between stressful life events and the risk of subarachnoid hemorrhage, where a ruptured blood vessel causes bleeding into the space surrounding the brain. Its estimated that up to half of cases are fatal.
Its common for people to attribute a sudden medical problem like stroke to stress, noted senior researcher Dr. Craig S. Anderson, of the George Institute of International Health and the University of Sydney in Australia.
In the case of subarachnoid hemorrhage, he told Reuters Health in an email, it is possible for a sudden rise in blood pressure to cause a rupture in an aneurysm — a weakened area in an artery wall. And subarachnoid hemorrhage does sometimes follow a sudden exertion, during exercise or sex, for example, Anderson noted.
However, whether lifes distressing experiences are associated with a higher risk of the strokes has been unclear.
For their study, Anderson and his colleagues interviewed 388 subarachnoid-hemorrhage survivors about distressing life events they had experienced in the one month and one year preceding the stroke.
Overall, the study found, most forms of stressful life events showed no relationship with the risk of subarachnoid hemorrhage.
A Vascular Surgeon Comments On Aortic Aneurysm And Losing Ones Temper And Blood Pressure Rise
According to one investigation, there is a strong link between aortic dissection and extreme emotional stresswhich would include a temper outburst.
A temper outburst would cause blood pressure rise. Blood pressure control is extremely important for people with an aortic aneurysm.
Patients are told to avoid heavy physical exertion such as heavy weightlifting or trying to install an air conditioner, as these can shoot up blood pressure, which can then cause conditions ripe for an aortic dissection.
Emotional stress, too, can raise blood pressure. Dr. John Elefteriades, an aortic repair surgeon, designed a survey of dissection patients.
Ninety responded regarding what they were doing right before the dissection occurred.
Thirty-six reported events that he categorized as severe emotional stress. Though this apparently is the only study of this kind, the results cant be ignored.
Is it coincidence that 40 percent reported emotional stress ?
Must people with aortic aneurysms go through life tip-toeing on egg shells, suppressing their emotions, battling urges to vent their feelings about things in life?
Losing ones temper would increase the blood pressure and may result in aortic dissection in an individual with predisposing condition , but the effect on wall tension in an aortic abdominal aneurysm would most likely be negligible, explains Seyed-Mojtaba Gashti, MD, a board certified vascular surgeon with Broward Health Medical Center in Florida.
Don’t Miss: How To Deal With Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
What Is The Life Expectancy After A Ruptured Brain Aneurysm
About 25 percent of individuals whose cerebral aneurysm has ruptured do not survive the first 24 hours; another 25 percent die from complications within 6 months. People who experience subarachnoid hemorrhage may have permanent neurological damage. Other individuals recover with little or no disability.
