Imagine what the Game of Thrones ending would have been like without its star, Emilia Clarke, playing the role of Daenerys Targaryen.
It was revealed during the shooting of Game of Thrones, that Emilia was treated for several life threatening aneurysms. Overcome by a sudden sharp pain in her head, Emilia knew she was in trouble. According to an interview in the New York Times, she said to herself, “I will not be paralyzed.” I moved my fingers and toes to make sure that was true. To keep my memory alive, I tried to recall, among other things, some lines from “Game of Thrones.”
So what is a brain aneurysm and why can it be so deadly? A brain aneurysm is a bulge or ballooning in a blood vessel in the brain. A brain aneurysm can leak or rupture, causing bleeding into the brain (a hemorrhagic stroke). A ruptured aneurysm quickly becomes life-threatening and requires prompt medical treatment.
Emilia was very lucky. The reality is that the vast majority of aneurysms are detected only when they burst. When aneurysms are detected, it is only incidentally, often when a patient has had a brain MRI as a result of a brain injury.
What makes them dangerous is that brain aneurysms can grow to a point where they might rupture without any symptoms presenting. When symptoms do present they are often confused with other benign conditions. Symptoms can include:
- Sudden, extremely severe headaches
- Pain above and behind one eye
- A dilated pupil
- Change in vision or double vision
- Numbness of one side of the face
Some genetic conditions are associated with an elevated risk of developing a brain aneurysm. These include certain genetic disorders that affect blood vessel growth or that increase blood pressure. Other factors that can increase the risk of an aneurysm include:
- Older age
- Cigarette smoking
- High blood pressure (hypertension)
- Drug abuse, particularly the use of cocaine
- Heavy alcohol consumption
A comprehensive Prenuvo scan does a detailed review of the arteries supplying oxygen to the brain. We routinely detect aneurysms as small as 4mm at a stage before they typically become life-threatening and when they can be easily treated with a type of stent that prevents the aneurysm bursting.
At Prenuvo we believe it is extremely important to know what is going on inside your body - particularly because many serious cancers and medical conditions often cause no early symptoms or sometimes cause confusing symptoms that can be easily missed.
Posted by Andrew Lacy
Founder & CEO
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