The 4 types of aneurysm: symptoms and characteristics

In this summary of the types of aneurysm we will see the characteristics of these health problems.

Aneurysms are the proof that, in many cases, a disease can become a life-threatening problem in a matter of seconds.. Moreover, sometimes this clinical condition is completely silent throughout the patient's life, without the patient ever realizing that he or she is suffering from it. Surprising as it may seem, the overall prevalence of this pathology is 2-3% of the general population.

Thousands of internal processes occur within our body that are invisible to the human eye and, although it may not seem so, some of them can be quickly chronically complicated by some specific physiological events. This does not mean that you have to live in fear: aneurysms also often give away their presence with certain signs that, if interpreted and treated in time, almost ensure 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 aneurysmstheir characteristics and much more.

What is an aneurysm?

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

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

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

• 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 are living with a cerebral aneurysm without immediate life-threatening complications.
• Aneurysms usually occur in adults, but can also occur in children.

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

Types of aneurysm and their characteristics

As we have said, an aneurysm can appear almost anywhere. However, in order to compartmentalize the information we are going to provide you now, we will list two major groups for their clinical and epidemiological importance: cerebral aneurysms and aortic aneurysms. Let's do it.

1. Cerebral aneurysms

First of all, it is necessary to note that a cerebral aneurysm and a cerebrovascular accident (CVA) are not the same thing.Sometimes the population tends to use these two terms as indistinct. Eighty percent of strokes are ischemic, that is, caused by a blood clot that plugs a vessel in the brain. The other 20% are attributed to hemorrhagic stroke, which is caused by a ruptured blood vessel that causes bleeding in the brain.

As you might have guessed, aneurysm can be the cause of hemorrhagic stroke, but not all cerebral aneurysms result in stroke, nor is every cause of hemorrhagic stroke an aneurysm. It is important to keep this in mind.

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

It gets ugly if it ruptures at some point (although it usually doesn't). In these cases, when blood is spilling over the brain, the symptoms are much clearer and more worrying: sudden and very intense headache, nausea and vomiting, neck stiffness, sensitivity to light, eyelid drooping, convulsions, loss of consciousness, confusion... In short, a physiological disaster. Fifteen percent of patients with a ruptured cerebral aneurysm die before reaching the hospital and, in general, 40% die even if they undergo emergency surgery.

It should be noted that there are two subtypes of cerebral aneurysm. We tell them in the following lines briefly.

1.1 Saccular aneurysm

It is the most common type of aneurysm, also called "berry" aneurysm for its curious morphology. It appears as a protrusion, 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 widens in the weak area..

2. Aortic aneurysm

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

It should be noted that most aneurysms are found in the aorta, the main artery leading 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. It is necessary to perform an early excision because, unlike cerebral aneurysms, aortic aneurysms are quite different depending on their location. We tell you about the two main types.

2.1 Thoracic aortic aneurysm

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

The patient has no symptoms until the aneurysm ruptures and begins to leak blood into nearby tissue or, alternatively, the artery has expanded too much. Symptoms in these cases are as follows: hoarseness, swallowing problems, back pain, sharp breathing, neck swelling, pain in the upper chest, moist skin, nausea, vomiting, etc.

It should be noted that the survival rate of patients with large aortic aneurysms is 65% at one year and 20% at 5 years. Rupture of these aneurysms cause mortality in 97% of cases.For this reason we can say that we are facing a clinical picture even worse if possible than the brain.

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 in its section that passes through the chest, while an abdominal aortic aneurysm occurs when the part of the aorta that passes through the abdomen widens.. It is as simple as that.

The premise is the same as in the previous cases: unruptured aneurysms are usually silent (although abdominal aneurysms can be identified as palpable masses in some cases) and the real problem comes when they rupture. The symptoms, as you can imagine, are almost the same at the systemic level, only that the pain is usually more focused in the abdominal area of the patient.

Summary

As we have gathered in these lines, today we have brought you a family of pathologies that are no mean feat. While "many" people have cerebral aneurysms and never realize it, a small percentage may experience a rupture of the affected artery and, in this case, things get very complicated very quickly.

Both variants are extremely lethal, although (going by statistics alone), it appears 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: we will all die someday, so it is better not to worry too much about pathologies that we cannot detect with tangible symptoms.

Bibliographic references:

• What is cerebral aneurysm? UIhealth. Retrieved 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. Retrieved from: https://medlineplus.gov/spanish/ency/article/001122.htm#:~:text=The%20effects%20on%20some%20of%20the%20brain%20(aneurysm%20cerebral).
• Aortic aneurysm, medlineplus.gov. Retrieved from: https://medlineplus.gov/spanish/aorticaneurysm.html
• Cerebral aneurysm, mayoclinic.org. Retrieved from: https://www.mayoclinic.org/es-es/diseases-conditions/brain-aneurysm/symptoms-causes/syc-20361483
• Aneurysm in the brain, medlineplus.gov. Retrieved from: https://medlineplus.gov/spanish/ency/article/001414.htm