The 4 types of aneurysm: symptoms and characteristics

Aneurysms are proof that, in many cases, a disease can become a life-or-death problem in a matter of seconds.. In addition, sometimes this clinical picture is completely silent throughout the patient's life, without him realizing at any time that he is suffering from it. As surprising as it may seem, the global prevalence of this pathology is 2-3% of the general population.

Within our body thousands of internal processes occur invisible to the human eye and, although it may not seem so, some of them can be chronically complicated rapidly by some specific physiological events. This does not mean that you have to live in fear: aneurysms also tend to reveal their presence with certain signs that, if interpreted and treated in time, almost assure a success rate and complete recovery of the patient.

But what are we talking about? what is an aneurysm? what is its typology and prognosis? If you are curious, wait no more, because in the following lines we present you the types of aneurysms, its features and much more.

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What is an aneurysm?

An aneurysm is defined as an abnormal widening or bulging of part of an artery due to some weakness in the blood vessel wall.

Talking about the typology of aneurysms is complex, since they can really occur in any blood vessel. Even so, the following areas are the most likely to present them: aortic artery (aortic aneurysm), cerebral vessels (cerebral aneurysm), popliteal artery, mesenteric artery and splenic artery.

All the information of a medical nature that we are going to show you below is essential importance to understand the world of aneurysms, but it is of little use if we do not frame them according to global level. These statistics help us to do this:

• The incidence of aneurysms (number of new cases per population and time) ranges from 0.4-3.6%.
• The prevalence in the general population that is not at risk is 2-3%.
• Approximately 6 million people live with a brain aneurysm without immediate danger to their lives.
• Aneurysms usually occur in adults, but they can also occur in children.

A widened artery doesn't seem like such a big deal either, does it? The problem with all this is, unfortunately, that it can break. you can imagine the physiological disaster of brain tissue flooded with spilled blood and, therefore, it is not at all shocking to know that 40% of these clinical pictures end in the death of the patient.

Types of aneurysm and their characteristics

As we have said, an aneurysm can appear almost anywhere. Even so, in order to compartmentalize the information that we are going to provide you now, we are going to state two large groups due to their clinical and epidemiological importance: cerebral aneurysms and aneurysms aortic. Go for it.

1. brain aneurysms

First of all, it is necessary to note that a brain aneurysm and a cerebrovascular accident (CVA) are not the same, because sometimes the population tends to use these two terms interchangeably. 80% of strokes are ischemic, that is, caused by a blood clot that covers a vessel in the brain. The remaining 20% ​​is attributed to hemorrhagic stroke, which is caused by a ruptured blood vessel that causes bleeding in the brain.

As you may have imagined, the aneurysm can be the cause of a hemorrhagic stroke, but Not all brain aneurysms lead to a stroke and not all causes of hemorrhagic stroke are an aneurysm. It is important to keep this in mind.

Notably, in many cases, unruptured aneurysms do not cause any symptoms in the patient. Even so, if the widening of the artery is compromising any nerve or peripheral tissue, the patient may experience the following clinical signs: pain above and behind one eye, a dilated pupil, vision changes or double vision, and numbness on one side of the eye face. 6 million Americans are living with brain aneurysms without realizing it.

Things get ugly if it breaks at some point (although they usually don't). In these cases, when blood is being shed on the brain, the symptoms are much clearer and worrying: sudden and very intense headache, nausea and vomiting, stiff neck, sensitivity to light, drooping eyelids, seizures, loss of consciousness, confusion… In short, a disaster physiological. 15% of patients with a ruptured brain aneurysm die before reaching the hospital and, in general, 40% die even if they are operated on urgently.

Notably there are two subtypes of brain aneurysm. We tell you about them in the following lines in a brief way.

1.1 Saccular aneurysm

It is the most common type of aneurysm, also called a “berry” aneurysm due to its curious morphology. Presents as a bulge, sac, or bulge at an intersection in the network of arteries located at the base of the brain.

1.2 Fusiform aneurysm

It is a less common type than the previous one. In this case the entire artery in the weak area is widened.

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2. aortic aneurysm

Even if we change parts of the body, the rationale is the same: an artery is widened and presents some risk of rupturing. Although cerebral aneurysms are much more represented in the medical literature consulted, we cannot leave aortic aneurysms behind.

Notably most aneurysms are found in the aorta, the main artery that leads from the heart through the chest and abdomen. In some areas of the United States, the prevalence of thoracic aortic aneurysm is estimated at 10.4 patients per 100,000 population-years. Early excision is necessary because, unlike cerebral aneurysms, aortic aneurysms are quite different depending on their location. We tell you the two main types.

2.1 Thoracic aortic aneurysm

A thoracic aortic aneurysm is an abnormal bulging or swelling of the part of the aorta that passes through the chest. The most common cause of it is atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries), although there are other risk factors such as age, genetic conditions, syphilis or chest injuries from falls and other trauma.

The patient does not have any symptoms until the aneurysm ruptures and begins to leak blood into nearby tissue or, failing that, the artery has expanded too much. The symptoms in these cases are the following: hoarseness, swallowing problems, back pain, acute breathing, swelling in the neck, pain in the upper part of the chest, clammy skin, nausea, vomiting etc

Of note, the survival rate for patients with large aortic aneurysms is 65% at one year and 20% at 5 years. The rupture of these aneurysms causes mortality in 97% of cases., which is why we can affirm that we are facing a clinical picture that is even worse than the cerebral one.

2.2 Abdominal aortic aneurysm

As you can imagine, there is little difference between this type and the previous one. A thoracic aortic aneurysm occurs when the aorta widens as it passes through the chest, while an abdominal aortic aneurysm occurs when the part of the aorta that passes through the abdomen widens. Simple as that.

The premise is the same as in the previous cases: unruptured aneurysms are usually silent (although abdominal pain can be identified as palpable masses in some cases) and the real problem comes when break. The symptoms, as you can imagine, are almost the same at a systemic level, only that the pain tends to focus more on the patient's abdominal area.

Summary

As we have collected in these lines, today we have brought you a family of pathologies that are not small feat. Although "many" people develop brain aneurysms and never realize it, a small percentage You may experience a rupture of the affected artery, and in this case, things get very complicated. quickly.

Both variants are extremely lethal, although (only looking at the statistics), it seems that the thoracic aneurysm is the most serious of all. Little can be done in the face of these clinical pictures, since most of them present silently: all we will die one day, so it is better not to worry too much about pathologies that we will not be able to detect with symptoms tangible.

Bibliographic references:

• What is a brain aneurysm? UIhealth. Recovered from: https://hospital.uillinois.edu/es/primary-and-specialty-care/neurologia-y-neurocirugia/condiciones-neurologicas-que-tratamos/aneurisma-cerebral/que-es-un-aneurisma-cerebral
• Aneurysm, medlineplus.gov. Recovered from: https://medlineplus.gov/spanish/ency/article/001122.htm#:~:text=Los%20defectos%20en%20algunas%20de, The%20brain%20(cerebral%20aneurysm)
• Aortic aneurysm, medlineplus.gov. Recovered from: https://medlineplus.gov/spanish/aorticaneurysm.html
• Brain Aneurysm, mayoclinic.org. Recovered from: https://www.mayoclinic.org/es-es/diseases-conditions/brain-aneurysm/symptoms-causes/syc-20361483
• Brain Aneurysm, medlineplus.gov. Recovered from: https://medlineplus.gov/spanish/ency/article/001414.htm