Aneurysm is a word that we mostly use to describe a balloon-like bulge in an artery. Arteries, on the other hand, are blood vessels that carry blood away from the heart. The walls of the arteries are usually thick enough to withstand normal blood-pressure. These walls could however become damaged due to some genetic conditions, trauma or sometimes due to injury to the walls of the arteries. The pressure of the blood against the damaged arterial walls could sometimes result in the accumulation of blood which leads to an aneurysm. Some types of aneurysms exist at birth while others develop during a person’s lifetime. Certain factors like high blood pressure, high cholesterol and cigarette smoking could increase the risk of certain types of aneurysms. Aneurysms are divided into several different types, but what follow are brief overviews of a few. Aortic aneurysms develop in the aorta and could be caused by the buildup of plaque, hardening of the arteries or by atherosclerosis. Cerebral aneurysms, also commonly referred to as berry aneurysms take shape in the blood vessels of the brain and the risks of this type of aneurysms among other things also depends upon smoking activity. Ventricular aneurysm is another such type and is associated with ballooning up of part of the heart wall. These aneurysms sometimes result from a prior heart attack too. The worst case scenario in the event of an aneurysm is the bursting of that aneurysm which could result in stoke or in fatal bleeding (hemorrhage). In the event of the bursting of the aneurysm, the patient requires immediate treatment to make survival a leeway.
The rupturing of an aneurysm could have a number of deadly consequences including brain damage, coma or even death. Even when a person is lucky enough to live through an aneurysm, he/she might experience effects of that aneurysm that are everlasting at best and as follows is a story that provides authentication. Somewhere during March 2000, a critical-care nurse named Eric Samaniego was struck down by a headache, and according to his own testimony, “My vision started getting blurry, and I started to lose my balance.” His wife called 911 and he was immediately rushed to the emergency room. According to the testimony from the doctors, his aneurysm had been revamped through a succession of surgeries. The recovery process however was far from painless. Samaniego lived with blurry vision and affected speech for nine months and coupled with that; he had also temporarily lost his ability to write. That however wasn’t the most unnerving part of the crisis. The worst experience that Samaniego lived through was the loss of his ability to interact with his wife and children like before. Samaniego was however eventually able to gather himself and go back to work, but the hopes of full recovery were futile. Even so, save for a few minor speech problems, Samaniego considers himself fortunate to have survived the ordeal.
Ranging from genetic to environmental, the causes of aneurysms are quite a few, some of them being high blood pressure, accumulation of cholesterol on the arterial walls, hypertension, Vasculitis in simpler words an infection in the aorta. A few environmental factors could also plant seeds for certain classifications of aneurysms the most common of them being smoking and use of cocaine. We have several studies that could provide evidence of these factors. A study was conducted that was subsequently named the Edinburgh artery study, which followed the lives of 1592 men and women between the ages of 55-77 years. Four of these subjects were diagnosed with abdominal aortic aneurysm. According to this study, current and recent ex-smokers had higher risks of aneurysms when compared to long-term ex-smokers and non-smokers. Aneurysms could also be passed through a person’s genes, and these are the hardest to combat. Sex is also a factor that contributes to the likelihood of an aneurysm. According to a neuro- surgeon, women are more likely to have aneurysms than men. One of the possible reasons for this is that women have thinner arterial walls, and they are consequently more likely to form a swelling on the walls of their arteries.
In order to better understand and subsequently prevent this condition in the maximum number of people, it is imperative that we shed light on the symptoms of aneurysms. The strength with which the symptoms manifest hugely depends upon the size of the aneurysm and its location. With bigger aneurysms come greater number of symptoms, and they are often quite intense. Once the aneurysm grows too big and is at a risk of bursting, a few symptoms may become evident. These include severe headaches, nausea, vomiting, and problems with the eyesight, light sensitivity, drooping eyelids, stiff neck, seizures and the loss of consciousness. A sudden and severe headache and very commonly described by the victims as ‘the worst headache ever’ points towards a ruptured aneurysm and any person who goes through any such experience has to seek treatment immediately. There is yet another way in which an aneurysm may manifest itself. In some cases, aneurysms may bleed very slightly and in the case; the person only experiences swift and severe headache.
According to an interview with one of the top Neuro Surgeons Dr. Aman Patel, there are about 35-40 thousand annual cases of aneurysm ruptures in the United States and about half of these patients pass away within 30 days. All of these aneurysms are not very serious though. According to Dr. Patel, 15 percent of aneurysms are misdiagnosed. Diagnosis, therefore, is a very crucial part of this condition, and a lucid diagnosis could help save many lives. The diagnosis of an aneurysm largely depends upon the location of the aneurysm. In addition to detailed medical history and a physical exam, a single or a combination of the following techniques could be employed. Computerized Tomography Angiogram Scan or in short, the CTA scan captures images of several parts of the body including bones, tissues, muscles, fats and organs and is one of the techniques used to diagnose aneurysms. Magnetic Resonance Imaging or the MRI is another technique which makes use of large magnets, radio images and a computer that captures images of slices of several body parts. Arteriogram or the angiogram is a technique where dye is injected into different blood vessels to check for aneurysms, blockages or narrow blood vessels. This is yet another technique which provides immense assistance in diagnosing aneurysms.
Once an aneurysm has been discovered, there are a variety of choices available to the doctors for treatment and what course of action to take depends upon the size, location and the risks associated with an aneurysm. Some aneurysms are repaired surgically. This surgery however is not empty of risks, and this course of action is, therefore, adopted in dire circumstances. Doctors usually operate when the risk of rupture surpasses the risk of surgery. Monitoring is another option which the medical staff uses in case of smaller aneurysms that do not cause any symptoms. Regular checkups however are maintained, and medication is also prescribed to keep in check the patient’s blood pressure and other factors which might elevate the risk of ruptures. Medicine is also a way of treating aneurysms, but this method hardly takes care of the problem. All it can do is prevent conditions that might increase the risks of the aneurysm becoming fatal. What we discussed above are the traditional treatments for curing this condition. With increased access to modern medical equipment and so many medical breakthroughs, doctors are researching and implementing newer ways of treating aneurysms. One of these techniques is Stent Assisted Coiling. This technique focuses on the treatment of wide-neck aneurysms, and it involves the placing of a stent inside the patient’s formal artery to protect the walls of the damaged blood vessels.
After going through the health condition from every possible aspect; the idiom ‘Prevention is better than cure’ readily comes to mind. As we have already seen, there are several factors that develop into aneurysms. We can do little about the factors that are beyond our control, like the genetic or the sex; we can however regulate a few of these causes and therefore plummet the likelihood of an aneurysm. For this very reason, doctors always present us with several ways in which we could prevent this condition. These are as follows. Regulating and keeping in check our blood pressure could make us safer and regulating our cholesterol could also assist to an immense extent. Both of these could be achieved by taking a healthy diet and keeping our fat intake in check as well as by exercising regularly. Taking these precautions could keep aneurysms at bay, but becoming safe from countless other health problems would be an added bonus. Quitting smoking is another habit that could save us from the pitfalls of aneurysms. This step however cannot immediately turn the odds in our favor. Quitting smoking, therefore, may not be able to help with the problem in the immediate future but it could rally around quite a bit in the long run.
Aneurysms may be a reason for many deaths throughout the Unites States but the risk for a single individual is not very significant. This is why we worry rarely about suffering from this problem except in circumstances where one has been diagnosed or if the disease runs in the family. Worrying also isn’t going to help us a great deal either. With so many diseases and health problems that exist today, how many can we really prevent or take precaution from? The best we could do is to just live and deal with any problem as it comes.
References
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