Peripheral Angioplasty

A brain aneurysm is mainly swelling or a bulge in a blood vessel that is quite dangerous which can get leaked and can be ruptured causing bleeding in the brain. This can be dangerous as it can leak and further can be ruptured which causes bleeding in the brain. Most of the time the ruptured brain is between the space between the brain and the tissue. Such cases need immediate medical attention, else it can be dangerous. There can also be a chance where the brain aneurysms don't always rupture but can create many health problems or there can be symptoms. If a brain aneurysm is treated before time there can be rupture that can be prevented in the future.

Symptoms of a Brain aneurysm

Some of the symptoms include a sudden or severe headache. Others include; 

•  Nausea and vomiting.

•  Stiff neck and blurred vision.

•  Experiencing drooping eyelids.

•  Experiencing sensitivity for light.

•  Loss of consciousness.

• Confusion.

There are two types of aneurysms. They are; 

• Leaking' aneurysm: Leaking of a little amount of blood causes sudden and severe headaches.

•  Unruptured aneurysm: This has no symptoms while it is small, but a larger one gets pressed on the brain tissues and nerves which causes pain above and behind the eye, dilated pupil, and there also changes in the vision. One might also experience numbness of one side of the face.

Risk factors

Weakness in the artery wall can increase the risk of rupture in the brain. It is usually more common in adults than in children and women are more prone to it than men. Some of the risk factors come in the course of time and some can be even by birth. Risk factors that develop over time can be old age, cigarette smoking, high blood pressure, use of cocaine, and alcohol consumption. Some aneurysms could occur after a head injury or could be because of some blood infections.

Some of the risk factors during birth includes;

Inherited connective tissue: It weakens the blood vessels.

Polycystic kidney disease results in the kidneys having fluid-filled sacs that cause high blood pressure.

Abnormally narrow aorta causes problems as this is the large blood vessel that supplies blood from the heart to other parts of the body.

Cerebral arteriovenous malformation is a cause of the connection between the brain and the veins which are not normal and interfere in the normal flow of blood between them.

Family history of brain aneurysm:  If a relative, mainly a parent, brother, or sister has a brain aneurysm then the chances are more.

When the brain aneurysm ruptures, there is bleeding that will last only for a few seconds. Then, the blood can damage the surrounding cells and also increase the pressure in the skull. When this pressure increases there will be a disturbance of the supply of blood and oxygen that will cause loss of consciousness or sometimes may be the cause of death.

Diagnosis

• If there is a sudden headache then the tests will be carried out to check if there was bleeding in the space between the brain and the tissues or the headache is due to some other type of stroke.

• If there is bleeding then it is a ruptured aneurysm.

• If there are some other symptoms like pain behind the eye or changes in the vision there will be some more tests to identify the aneurysm.

Some of the diagnostic tests are; 

• Computerized tomography is a CT scan to determine if there is bleeding or not.

• Cerebrospinal fluid tests if there would be any subarachnoid hemorrhage then the red blood cells will be present in the fluid around the brain and the spine.

• MRI is Magnetic resonance imaging that uses magnetic and radio waves.

• A cerebral angiogram uses the dye injected inside the catheter for detection.

Procedure

Some of the factors that are considered before starting the treatment includes;

• The size and the location of the aneurysm.

• Age and general health.

• Family history.

• Congenital conditions have a risk of increasing ruptured aneurysms.

• If there is high blood pressure then the condition has to be managed which can decrease the risk of rupture.

There are mainly two common treatments;

Surgical clipping is a procedure where the surgeon removes the part of the skull which will help him to locate the blood vessels with an aneurysm. Then a tiny metal clip is placed on the neck of the aneurysm to stop blood flow to it.

Endovascular coiling is less invasive compared to surgical clipping. In this, the hollow plastic tube that is a catheter is inserted into the artery and is threaded through the body to the aneurysm. Then the soft platinum wire through the catheter is pushed into the aneurysm. This disrupts the blood flow and seals the aneurysm from the artery.

The risk factors in both the treatments include bleeding and the loss of blood flow in the brain. Even though the endovascular coiling is less invasive, there is a risk of the procedure being repeated in case there is an opening of the aneurysm.

Some other treatments include

• Doctors might suggest some pain relievers to help in reducing headaches.

• Calcium channel blockers that prevent the calcium from entering inside the cells of the blood help in lessening the narrowing of the blood vessels.

• Rehabilitative therapy is adapted in some cases.