[Health Information] A cerebral aneurysm alert after 40…preemptive testing is essential in summer

 The advice is that middle-aged and older adults from their 40s should take up preemptive screening and management to guard against the risk of cerebral aneurysm rupture from summer blood pressure swings.

Drawing on advice from Professor SUH, Dae Chul of Interventional Neuroradiology, St. Peter's Hospital recently outlined the dangers of cerebral aneurysm — which can cause severe after-effects and death if it ruptures — and how it is treated.

A cerebral aneurysm is a condition in which part of the wall of an artery inside the brain balloons out abnormally; it is found mainly in the circle of Willis, the group of large cerebral arteries at the base of the brain.

The prevalence is about 2 to 4% of the general population, and it occurs mainly in people in their 40s to 60s.

Professor SUH, Dae Chul explained, “The exact mechanism by which cerebral aneurysms develop is still not clearly understood, but the main cause is thought to be damage to the vessel wall and loss of elasticity as blood flow pressure is applied steadily to an already weakened wall.”

The problem is that only 10 to 15% of patients with an unruptured cerebral aneurysm have any symptoms, which makes it difficult to detect in advance.

If it ruptures and causes a cerebral hemorrhage, however, patients suffer an extreme, thunderclap-like headache along with nausea, vomiting and seizures, and 15% die before reaching hospital.

In particular, if rebleeding occurs within 24 hours of the first hemorrhage, the mortality rate reaches 70%, so prompt emergency care is essential.

Accordingly, people aged 40 and over with risk factors such as hypertension, a family history or a history of smoking are advised to undergo brain CT, MRI and MRA even if they have no symptoms.

Professor SUH, Dae Chul explained, “An unruptured cerebral aneurysm causes no symptoms, so it is hard for patients to detect it early on their own,” adding, “In summer in particular, seasonal factors such as heat waves and air conditioning make swings in blood pressure large, so people at high risk of cerebral aneurysm need to take a more active interest in their cerebrovascular health.”

The number of cerebral aneurysms diagnosed and treated before rupture is rising steadily.

According to the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service, there were 209,242 patients with an unruptured cerebral aneurysm in 2025, about 69% more than the 123,579 recorded in 2020.

Treatment, too, has moved away from the craniotomy-centered approach of the past: embolization that blocks off the aneurysm through the femoral artery is now actively performed, and WEB (Woven EndoBridge), a mesh-shaped flow disruptor, is being used to make up for the limitations of coil embolization and lower the risk of rupture.

Professor SUH, Dae Chul stressed, “What matters most with a cerebral aneurysm is managing it while it is still unruptured,” adding, “If an unruptured aneurysm is found in advance, a treatment strategy suited to the patient's condition — follow-up imaging, surgery or an endovascular procedure — can be set to lower the risk of rupture, so it is well worth considering active, pre-emptive management.”

Source: Hospital News (http://www.khanews.com)