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Brain Aneurism Symptom

A ruptured brain aneurysm is one of the most serious medical conditions that can happen to a person. This is when a blood vessel in the brain swells up like a balloon, usually bursting or leaking. Since the brain is with the confined space of the skull, there is nowhere for the swelled blood vessel to go. But not all brain aneurysms, also called cerebral aneurysms, get that bad.

  1. Time Frame

    • According to the Mayo Clinic, people can survive for years with a brain aneurysm that has not yet leaked or burst. In the initial stages when a brain aneurysm is forming, there will be no noticeable symptoms whatsoever. Symptoms will only develop when the aneurysm starts to grow and press on the surrounding brain tissue.

    First Symptoms

    • Once the aneurysm starts growing, then symptoms will begin. These will include problems seeing, problems speaking, problems with coordination, dizziness, severe mood swings, inability to concentrate and inability to handle the smallest decision or task.

    Warning Symptoms

    • Symptoms of a leaking aneurysm or one just about to burst include sudden severe headache, nausea, vomiting, stiff neck, extreme sensitivity to light, vision problems such as blurred or double vision, one eyelid drooping down lower than the other and extreme confusion.

    Potential

    • The main symptom of a ruptured brain aneurysm is what has been described as "the world's worst headache," becoming so painful that sometimes the patient passes out or goes into seizures. According to the Mayo Clinic, 50 percent of all people who suffer a ruptured brain aneurysm will die in a couple of days.

    Famous Ties

    • The most famous person to have survived a swollen brain aneurysm was Bill Berry, the drummer for the American pop band REM. His aneurysm burst while on stage in Lausanne, Switzerland, on March 1, 1995. Fortunately, Switzerland happens to have some of the world's finest neurosurgeons. Berry has since recovered, but had to leave the band. Ironically, brain aneurysms are often called "berry aneurysms" because of their shape, not because of Bill Berry.

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