A Simple Guide to Cerebral Aneurysm, Diagnosis, Treatment and Related Conditions

By Kenneth Kee

This book describes Cerebral Aneurysm, Diagnosis and Treatment and Related Diseases

One of my patients had what he describes as the ‘worst headache that he ever had followed by difficulty in swallowing’.

He was sent for brain scan which shows bleeding from a swollen blood vessel in the brain.

Because he was in China, his wife got hold of the SOS medical service which provided a private airplane.

He was then flown back to Singapore where I managed to get a neurosurgeon waiting to check on him on arrival.

Luckily for him his bleeding was mild and his operation to clip the aneurysm was successful.

Recently our Minister for Finance had a stroke due to the rupture of this brain aneurysm and has recovered from his illness after a brain surgery.

A cerebral aneurysm (termed a brain aneurysm) is a weak or thin spot on an artery in the brain that balloons or bulges out and becomes fill with blood.

The bulging aneurysm can press on the nerves or brain tissue.

It may also burst or rupture, spilling blood into the neighboring tissue (brain hemorrhage).

A ruptured aneurysm can produce serious health disorders such as hemorrhagic stroke, brain damage, coma and even death.

Some cerebral aneurysms, mostly those that are very small, may not bleed or cause other disorders.

These types of aneurysms are normally identified during imaging tests for other medical disorders.

Cerebral aneurysms can happen anywhere in the brain but most develop in the major arteries along the base of the skull.

Most are saccular (berry appearance) which is linked with a thin or absent tunica media and an absent or seriously fragmented internal elastic lamina.

Fusiform (circumferential) and mycotic (infectious) aneurysms are found in a small proportion.

Most cerebral aneurysms are silent and may be discovered incidentally on neuroimaging or upon autopsy.

About 85% of aneurysms are located in the anterior circulation, mainly at junctions along the circle of Willis.

Sub-arachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) normally happens with rupture and is linked with a high rate of morbidity and death.

Most cerebral aneurysms are acquired diseases with a higher incidence in patients with certain risk factors such as:
Advanced age,
Hypertension,
Smoking,
Alcohol abuse,
Atherosclerosis

Other causes are:
Cocaine use,
Tumors,
Trauma, and
Certain embolic-forming infections like endocarditis.

There is also a strong genetic factor with the incidence considerably increased in patients with a strong family history of aneurysms (in other words, more than one family member affected).

Un-ruptured cerebral aneurysms do not exhibit any symptoms and are therefore not detected based on history and physical exam alone.

When cerebral aneurysms are ruptured, they often present with a sudden onset of severe headache.

This is classically reported as a “thunderclap headache” or “worse headache of my life.”

A headache may be followed by:
A brief loss of consciousness,
Neck stiffness
Nausea and vomiting.

Seizures are rare in less than 10% of patients.

Sudden death may also happen in 10 to 15% of patients.

CT scan is often the first test a doctor will order to determine if blood has leaked into the brain.

Small un-ruptured aneurysms may be safely left alone and monitored with CT scan

Surgical clipping or endovascular coiling or a flow diverter can be used to seal off a brain aneurysm and help prevent a future rupture.

Recovery from treatment or rupture may take weeks to months.

TABLE OF CONTENT
Introduction
Chapter 1 Cerebral Aneurysm
Chapter 2 Causes
Chapter 3 Symptoms
Chapter 4 Diagnosis
Chapter 5 Treatment
Chapter 6 Prognosis
Chapter 7 Sub-Arachnoid Hemorrhage
Chapter 8 Stroke
Epilogue

• Language: English
• Publisher: Kenneth Kee
• Release date: Nov 8, 2021
• ISBN: 9780463029817

Kenneth Kee

Medical doctor since 1972.Started Kee Clinic in 1974 at 15 Holland Dr #03-102, relocated to 36 Holland Dr #01-10 in 2009.Did my M.Sc (Health Management ) in 1991 and Ph.D (Healthcare Administration) in 1993.Dr Kenneth Kee is still working as a family doctor at the age of 74However he has reduced his consultation hours to 3 hours in the morning and 2 hours inthe afternoon.He first started writing free blogs on medical disorders seen in the clinic in 2007 on http://kennethkee.blogspot.com.His purpose in writing these simple guides was for the health education of his patients which is also his dissertation for his Ph.D (Healthcare Administration). He then wrote an autobiography account of his journey as a medical student to family doctor on his other blog http://afamilydoctorstale.blogspot.comThis autobiography account “A Family Doctor’s Tale” was combined with his early “A Simple Guide to Medical Disorders” into a new Wordpress Blog “A Family Doctor’s Tale” on http://ken-med.com.From which many free articles from the blog was taken and put together into 1000 eBooks.He apologized for typos and spelling mistakes in his earlier books.He will endeavor to improve the writing in futures.Some people have complained that the simple guides are too simple.For their information they are made simple in order to educate the patients.The later books go into more details of medical disorders.He has published 1000 eBooks on various subjects on health, 1 autobiography of his medical journey, another on the autobiography of a Cancer survivor, 2 children stories and one how to study for his nephew and grand-daughter.The purpose of these simple guides is to educate patient on health disorders and not meant as textbooks.He does not do any night duty since 2000 ever since Dr Tan had his second stroke.His clinic is now relocated to the Buona Vista Community Centre.The 2 units of his original clinic are being demolished to make way for a new Shopping Mall.He is now doing some blogging and internet surfing (bulletin boards since the 1980's) startingwith the Apple computer and going to PC.The entire PC is upgraded by himself from XT to the present Pentium duo core.The present Intel i7 CPU is out of reach at the moment because the CPU is still expensive.He is also into DIY changing his own toilet cistern and other electric appliance.His hunger for knowledge has not abated and he is a lifelong learner.The children have all grown up and there are 2 grandchildren who are even more technically advanced than the grandfather where mobile phones are concerned.This book is taken from some of the many articles in his blog (now with 740 posts) A Family Doctor’s Tale.Dr Kee is the author of:"A Family Doctor's Tale""Life Lessons Learned From The Study And Practice Of Medicine""Case Notes From A Family Doctor"

Book preview

A

Simple

Guide

To

Cerebral Aneurysm,

Diagnosis,

Treatment

And

Related Conditions

By

Dr Kenneth Kee

M.B.,B.S. (Singapore)

Ph.D (Healthcare Administration)

Copyright Kenneth Kee 2021 Smashwords Edition

Published by Kenneth Kee at Smashwords.com

Dedication

This book is dedicated

To my wife Dorothy

And my children

Carolyn, Grace

And Kelvin

This book describes Cerebral Aneurysm, Diagnosis and Treatment and Related Diseases which is seen in some of my patients in my Family Clinic.

(What You Need to Treat Cerebral Aneurysm)

This e-Book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each reader.

If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy.

Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Introduction

I have been writing medical articles for my blog: http://kennethkee.blogspot.com (A Simple Guide to Medical Disorder) for the benefit of my patients since 2007.

My purpose in writing these simple guides was for the health education of my patients.

Health Education was also my dissertation for my Ph.D (Healthcare Administration).

I then wrote an autobiography account of my journey as a medical student to family doctor on my other blog: http://afamilydoctorstale.blogspot.com.

This autobiography account A Family Doctor’s Tale was combined with my early A Simple Guide to Medical Disorders into a new Wordpress Blog A Family Doctor’s Tale on http://kenkee481.wordpress.com.

From which many free articles from the blog was taken and put together into 800 eBooks.

Some people have complained that the simple guides are too simple.

For their information they are made simple in order to educate the patients.

The later books go into more details of medical disorders.

The first chapter is always from my earlier blogs which unfortunately tends to have typos and spelling mistakes.

Since 2013, I have tried to improve my spelling and writing.

As I tried to bring the patient the latest information about a disorder or illness by reading the latest journals both online and offline, I find that I am learning more and improving on my own medical knowledge in diagnosis and treatment for my patients.

My diagnosis and treatment capability has improved tremendously from my continued education.

Just by writing all these simple guides I find that I have learned a lot from your reviews (good or bad), criticism and advice.

I am sorry for the repetitions in these simple guides as the second chapters onwards have new information as compared to my first chapter taken from my blog.

I also find repetition definitely help me and maybe some readers to remember the facts in the books more easily.

I apologize if these repetitions are irritating to some readers.

Chapter 1

Cerebral Aneurysm

(Chapter from A Simple Guide to Cerebral Aneurysm 2021 by Kenneth Kee)

One of my patient had what he describes as the ‘worst headache that he ever had followed by difficulty in swallowing’.

He was sent for brain scan which shows bleeding from a swollen blood vessel in the brain.

Because he was in China, his wife got hold of the SOS medical service which provided a private airplane.

He was then flown back to Singapore where I managed to get a neurosurgeon waiting to check on him on arrival.

Luckily for him his bleeding was mild and his operation to clip the aneurysm was successful.

Recently our Minister for Finance had a stroke due to the rupture of this brain aneurysm and has recovered from his illness after a brain surgery.

What is a cerebral aneurysm?

A cerebral aneurysm (termed a brain aneurysm) is a weak or thin spot on an artery in the brain that balloons or bulges out and becomes fill with blood.

The bulging aneurysm can press on the nerves or brain tissue.

It may also burst or rupture, spilling blood into the neighboring tissue (termed a brain hemorrhage).

A ruptured aneurysm can produce serious health disorders such as hemorrhagic stroke, brain damage, coma, and even death.

Some cerebral aneurysms, particularly those that are very small, may not bleed or produce other disorders.

These types of aneurysms are normally identified during imaging tests for other medical disorders.

Cerebral aneurysms can happen anywhere in the brain, but most develop in the major arteries along the base of the skull.

Incidence

Cerebral aneurysms can happen in any person and at any age.

They are most frequent in adults between the ages of 30 and 60 and are more frequent in women than in men.

People with certain inherited disorders are also at higher danger.

All cerebral aneurysms have the possibility to rupture and cause bleeding within the brain or surrounding area.

About 30,000 Americans per year develop a brain aneurysm rupture.

Much less is known about how many people have cerebral aneurysms, since they do not always cause symptoms.

Between 3 and 5 % of USA population may have an aneurysm in their lifetime.

They can differ in size (small less than 0.5 mm, medium 6 to 25 mm, and large bigger than 25 mm).

Most are saccular (berry appearance),