September is Brain Aneurysm Awareness Month. According to the Cleveland Clinic, 6% of people in the United States have an aneurysm in their brain that is not bleeding — an unruptured aneurysm. It is more likely to affect women ages 40 to 60 years old. If you have relatives who have had an aneurysm, you should discuss it with your primary care provider.
The most common symptoms of an unruptured aneurysm, per the Cleveland Clinic, are headaches. Other signs may include the following:
- Vision changes
- Enlarged (dilated) pupil, the black part of the eye
- Seizures
- Numbness or tingling on the head or face
- Pain above and behind the eye
- Neck pain
- Nausea and vomiting.
If your aneurysm ruptures, as Cypress resident Mrs. Alonna Miller found out, it is an emergency. The most common symptom is a severe headache that comes on suddenly and lasts hours or days. Other symptoms can be the following:
- Stiff neck
- Drowsiness or even coma
- Mental confusion
- Dizziness or problems with your balance
- Difficulty speaking
- Weakness or no feeling in an arm or leg
- Heart attack.
For Miller, she had to spend weeks in the intensive-care unit, and she experienced “unimaginable pain.” It took many weeks to recover, and two unruptured aneurysms were also discovered and removed in August 2020.
If you have concerns or have a family member who has had an aneurysm, please discuss it with your primary care doctor.