An aneurysm is a bulge in the wall of a blood vessel caused by too much pressure. These bulges form in the aorta, the body's main artery, and the blood vessels in the brain. Aneurysms can burst and send blood into the brain, which can cause a lot of damage. These bleeds can also cause seizures.
Hypertension, or high blood pressure, makes you more likely to get an aneurysm. Checking your blood pressure should be something you often do at home or when you go to the doctor for a routine checkup.
Your maximum blood pressure should be less than 130 millimeters of mercury (mmHg), and your diastolic pressure should be less than 80 mmHg. But if your systolic blood pressure is over 140 or your diastolic blood pressure is over 90, you may need to change how you live and take medicine.
High blood pressure also makes it more possible for a person to have a stroke or heart disease. This can be caused by a natural trait like polycystic kidney disease or a problem of the connective tissues, or by a medical condition like atherosclerosis. If someone in your family has had an aneurysm, talk to your doctor about getting checked for it. This can help find the problem early and stop it from bursting.
During a visit to the doctor, they will generally wrap an inflatable cuff around your arm and use a pressure-measuring tool to check your blood pressure. They will ask you to write down what you've read.
Aneurysms can happen in many blood vessels, but usually in the brain (called a cerebral aneurysm) or the aorta in the chest (called an aortic aneurysm). Some people don't have any signs, and most aneurysms are found during regular checkups.
A genetic flaw that weakens a blood vessel and bulges is a significant cause of an aneurysm. About 3 to 5 percent of people who live long enough to get an aneurysm have this problem.
There are also diseases, like Ehlers-Danlos syndrome and Marfan syndrome, that can make it more likely for a person to have an aneurysm. Fibromuscular dysplasia, osteogenesis imperfecta, Moyamoya disease, and polycystic kidney disease are some other diseases that can raise the risk. COL1A2, on chromosome 9, is the gene most often linked to the growth of brain aneurysms. Even though it doesn't cause most aneurysms, it does make you more likely to get one.
Smoking hurts blood vessels all over the body, including the aorta, the largest artery. When this happens, it can make things hard to move. These can cause pain in the stomach and legs or an aortic rupture when a big bulge forms suddenly and out of the blue in the aorta. Some people get aneurysms because they smoke, but not everyone who smokes gets one. Most of the time, an aneurysm happens because the wall of the artery gets weaker.
It's unclear why this happens, but smoking has been shown to cause structural proteins in the artery wall to break down. This means that the walls of the arteries are not as strong and can be hurt by high blood pressure or a hard blow.
One study found that men who smoked a pack of cigarettes every day for 20 years were likelier to get an abdominal aortic aneurysm than men who didn't smoke. Even more, people were at risk if they had a gene variant that makes aneurysms more likely.
When aneurysms broke, researchers also found that smokers had higher blood pressure and a faster heart rate than nonsmokers. This can cause the pressure inside the head to increase even more, making it harder for the brain to stop bleeding.
The SMAD3 gene is another gene that has been linked to aneurysms. It is related to a type of familial thoracic aortic aneurysm that often happens with other arterial aneurysms, like cerebral aneurysms. It is also connected to porencephaly and sickness of the small blood vessels.
Hypertension, or high blood pressure, makes you more likely to get an aneurysm. Checking your blood pressure should be something you often do at home or when you go to the doctor for a routine checkup.
Your maximum blood pressure should be less than 130 millimeters of mercury (mmHg), and your diastolic pressure should be less than 80 mmHg. But if your systolic blood pressure is over 140 or your diastolic blood pressure is over 90, you may need to change how you live and take medicine.
High blood pressure also makes it more possible for a person to have a stroke or heart disease. This can be caused by a natural trait like polycystic kidney disease or a problem of the connective tissues, or by a medical condition like atherosclerosis. If someone in your family has had an aneurysm, talk to your doctor about getting checked for it. This can help find the problem early and stop it from bursting.
During a visit to the doctor, they will generally wrap an inflatable cuff around your arm and use a pressure-measuring tool to check your blood pressure. They will ask you to write down what you've read.
Aneurysms can happen in many blood vessels, but usually in the brain (called a cerebral aneurysm) or the aorta in the chest (called an aortic aneurysm). Some people don't have any signs, and most aneurysms are found during regular checkups.
A genetic flaw that weakens a blood vessel and bulges is a significant cause of an aneurysm. About 3 to 5 percent of people who live long enough to get an aneurysm have this problem.
There are also diseases, like Ehlers-Danlos syndrome and Marfan syndrome, that can make it more likely for a person to have an aneurysm. Fibromuscular dysplasia, osteogenesis imperfecta, Moyamoya disease, and polycystic kidney disease are some other diseases that can raise the risk. COL1A2, on chromosome 9, is the gene most often linked to the growth of brain aneurysms. Even though it doesn't cause most aneurysms, it does make you more likely to get one.
Smoking hurts blood vessels all over the body, including the aorta, the largest artery. When this happens, it can make things hard to move. These can cause pain in the stomach and legs or an aortic rupture when a big bulge forms suddenly and out of the blue in the aorta. Some people get aneurysms because they smoke, but not everyone who smokes gets one. Most of the time, an aneurysm happens because the wall of the artery gets weaker.
It's unclear why this happens, but smoking has been shown to cause structural proteins in the artery wall to break down. This means that the walls of the arteries are not as strong and can be hurt by high blood pressure or a hard blow.
One study found that men who smoked a pack of cigarettes every day for 20 years were likelier to get an abdominal aortic aneurysm than men who didn't smoke. Even more, people were at risk if they had a gene variant that makes aneurysms more likely.
When aneurysms broke, researchers also found that smokers had higher blood pressure and a faster heart rate than nonsmokers. This can cause the pressure inside the head to increase even more, making it harder for the brain to stop bleeding.
The SMAD3 gene is another gene that has been linked to aneurysms. It is related to a type of familial thoracic aortic aneurysm that often happens with other arterial aneurysms, like cerebral aneurysms. It is also connected to porencephaly and sickness of the small blood vessels.