Brain Aneurysm Awareness Month: 10 Essential Facts and Resources

September is brain aneurysm awareness month. Brain aneurysms (BA) are a type of acquired brain injury (they are non-traumatic versus a TBI/traumatic brain injury) that can cause speech, language, and cognitive difficulties. In my role as a speech language pathologist specializing in neuro rehab with adults, I work with clients who have had brain aneurysms. 

A brain aneurysm is when there is a weak, bulging area in an artery in the brain. If this area bursts, it causes bleeding in the brain, or a ruptured brain aneurysm. A ruptured BA is serious and a medical emergency requiring immediate attention. Typically a ruptured BA bleeds into the space between the skull and the brain, which leads to a subarachnoid hemorrhage (a type of stroke). There are 2 types of brain aneurysms- ruptured and unruptured. A small, unruptured BA may produce no symptoms or may only be detected incidentally during imaging tests for other medical conditions. But the larger the unruptured BA, the more likely that it may press on brain tissue or nerves and cause symptoms such as double vision or paralysis on one side of the face. The primary medical or surgical treatments for BA include clipping, coiling, and flow diversion devices.  There are many risk factors for brain aneurysms but two of the most significant are smoking cigarettes and having hypertension (high blood pressure). 

Here are 10 facts about brain aneurysms:

  1. Approximately 6 million (1 in 50 people) in the U.S. have an unruptured brain aneurysm.
  2. There are almost 500,000 deaths that occur worldwide every year due to brain aneurysms, and half of those victims are younger than age 50.
  3. A ruptured BA is fatal in 40-50% of cases. Of those who survive, about two-thirds will experience some type of permanent neurological deficit. 
  4. Women are 1.5x more likely to suffer a brain aneurysm than men. 
  5. Brain aneurysms are most prevalent in people ages 35-60. 
  6. Among patients evaluated in the emergency room for headaches, between 1 and 4 people out of 100 have a ruptured BA. The primary symptom of a ruptured BA is having “the worst headache of your life.” 
  7. 20% of people diagnosed with a brain aneurysm have more than one BA. 
  8. The federal government spends only $2.08 per year on BA research for each person affected.
  9. Postmenopausal women are twice as likely to experience a BA due to lower estrogen levels after menopause (more research is being done to fully understand this).
  10. In 3 out of 4 cases, misdiagnosis of a ruptured BA is due to failure to receive a scan (such as getting a CT scan in the emergency room). 

In addition to surgery, medical interventions, and rehabilitation, support groups are a wonderful resource for connecting with others who have suffered a brain aneurysm. Two great resources to check out are The Brain Aneurysm Foundation and The Bee Foundation (linked in my sources below). 

Sources: 

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Bethany Emanuel,

M.Ed., CCC-SLP

I’m an ASHA certified speech-language pathologist passionate about providing care that is client-centered and empowering clients to meet their goals. I have been an SLP for over 11 years and have worked in a variety of settings such as skilled nursing, private practice, and most recently at a nationally-ranked rehabilitation hospital. I obtained my bachelor’s and master’s degrees in speech pathology from the University of Georgia (Go Dawgs!). I see adolescents & adults with acquired brain injuries or diagnoses such as TBI/traumatic brain injury, concussion, stroke, or multiple sclerosis and also provide executive function coaching services to teens & adults with ADHD. My area of expertise is in cognitive communication disorders and I treat areas such as memory, attention, executive functioning, expressive and receptive language, swallowing, voice, and speech production.

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