09/17/2021 10:16 AM
Clarín.com
Good Life
Updated 09/17/2021 10:16 AM
Actress Agustina Posse died at age 44 of a brain aneurysm.
"An aneurysm is a malformation of the cerebral arteries, a silent disease that
was discovered with bleeding,
" Yaco González, his former partner and father of their two children, told a few days ago.
Silent, because the aneurysm
may not show symptoms
for a long time or even never.
They occur when there is a weakened area in the wall of a blood vessel in the brain and can be present from birth (congenital) or develop over the course of life.
Brain aneurysms are common, highlights a Medline Plus informational article from the US Library of Medicine.
One in fifty people
has an aneurysm in the brain, but only a small number of these aneurysms cause symptoms or rupture.
Different types
While there are many types of brain or intracranial aneurysms, the most common is the sacchiform aneurysm.
It is more frequent in adults, its size can vary from a
few millimeters to more than one centimeter
and, especially when there is more than one, it can be linked to a hereditary factor.
Other types of brain aneurysms involve a
widening
of an entire blood vessel or may appear as a
bulging
of one part.
Atherosclerosis (that is, hardening of the arteries), trauma or infection can damage the vascular wall and cause brain aneurysms, the article says.
A ruptured aneurysm is always a medical emergency.
Photo Shutterstock.
Risk factors and symptoms
Risk factors include
a family history
of aneurysms, some health problems (such as polycystic kidney disease, coarctation of the aorta, and endocarditis), hypertension, smoking, alcohol and drug use.
A person can have an aneurysm without showing any symptoms and can be detected by health professionals by doing an MRI or CT scan of the brain for some other cause.
"A brain aneurysm can begin to leak a small amount of blood. This can cause a very strong headache that a person can describe as
'the worst headache of his life'
", the article graphs and explains that "that it means the headache could be a warning sign of an upcoming breakdown that could happen days or weeks after the headache first happens. "
Symptoms can also occur if the aneurysm puts pressure on nearby structures in the brain or ruptures and causes bleeding within the brain.
Those symptoms can include double vision or vision loss;
headaches, neck, or eye;
ringing in the ears;
confusion;
drooping of the eyelid;
muscle weakness or difficulty moving;
trouble speaking or
loss of consciousness
.
A ruptured aneurysm
is always a medical emergency
that requires immediate attention, since it is a very serious and life-threatening condition.
"There is no known way to prevent a sacciform brain aneurysm from forming. Treating high blood pressure can reduce the chance that an existing aneurysm will rupture.
Controlling risk factors
for atherosclerosis can lower the chance of some types of aneurysms ", says the Medline article.
And he concludes: "If discovered early, those that have not ruptured can be treated before they cause problems or monitored with periodic imaging tests (usually yearly). The decision to repair a brain aneurysm that has not ruptured is based on the size, the place where it is located, the age of the person and their general state of health ".
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