Dr. Luong Tuan Anh, Department of Cardiovascular Diagnosis and Intervention, 108 Central Military Hospital, said: Last week, patient P.V.D, 58 years old in Hanoi, was admitted to the Department of Cardiovascular Diagnosis and Intervention - 108 Central Military Hospital because of a dull headache for the past 2 weeks, and medication did not relieve the pain. A CT scan detected a cerebral aneurysm, with a high risk of rupture, and was admitted to the hospital awaiting intervention to plug the aneurysm with a metal spring.
"A cerebral aneurysm is a phenomenon in which a blood vessel in the brain has a larger diameter than normal, occurring when the blood vessel is weak and bulges under the pressure of blood flow. If not detected and treated, the aneurysm will gradually increase in size, rupture, causing subarachnoid hemorrhage (a type of brain hemorrhage). This is a dangerous disease that threatens the patient's life. Milder cases can leave serious sequelae," added Dr. Luong Tuan Anh.
Dr. Luong Tuan Anh analyzed that there are many causes and risk factors for cerebral aneurysms such as congenital, smoking, obesity, etc., but the most notable is high blood pressure.
Symptoms of cerebral aneurysm are often unclear and progress silently until the aneurysm ruptures, the patient suddenly has severe headaches, vomiting and nausea. Therefore, patients need to be screened for early detection when there are signs of suspected cerebral aneurysm such as spontaneous headaches, dull headaches lasting for many days, headaches more severe than previous headaches or headaches that do not respond well to conventional medications.
"There are two methods of treating cerebral aneurysms, which are surgical clipping of the aneurysm neck and endovascular intervention. Surgery requires opening the skull and is not always possible, while endovascular intervention can solve most cases and is currently the choice for the majority of patients, if there are no financial obstacles.
There are many methods to treat cerebral aneurysms, patient P.V.D was chosen to have the aneurysm plugging technique using metal springs. The treatment process was favorable, the patient was discharged after 24 hours, returning to normal life" said Dr. Luong Tuan Anh.
Currently, there is no way to prevent the formation and development of cerebral aneurysms. The only effective way is to detect the aneurysm and intervene before it ruptures. Cerebral aneurysms can be detected through CT scan of the blood vessels with contrast, or magnetic resonance with contrast, 3 Tesla magnetic resonance.
