The Aneurysm Support Center

Every person is unique, but when you face a challenge like being diagnosed with an aneurysm, you are never alone. Countless others have faced exactly the same health crisis and have survived and thrived. The following guide is designed to help you navigate your journey with the best information and resources that helped other survivors when they faced the same challenge.

TSC has scoured the Internet and assembled links to the very best aneurysm resources: articles, blogs, forums, and tools that can help you make better decisions and take action to overcome the range of physical, emotional, and other challenges you're facing now.

As you’ll see, we always welcome your ideas and suggestions to make this aneurysm guide even more helpful to survivors like you.

JUST FOUND OUT

Survivors Say: Best Resources for Aneurysm

• Cerebral Aneurysm Information Page: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) This site, from an agency at the National Institutes of Health, explains what a brain aneurysm is and how it's typically treated.
• American Heart Association: Aneurysm, Aortic Aneurysms can happen in different parts of the body, including the abdomen. Read this AHA page to find out more.
• The Brain Aneurysm Foundation A list of frequently-asked questions about aneurysms from a leading organization on cerebral (brain) aneursym.
• Brain Aneurysm and Aneurysms Information A resource geared specifically towards brain aneurysms, with information from the American Society of Interventional & Therapeutic Neuroradiology.

The Big Picture

An aneurysm is a bulge or "ballooning" in the wall of an artery. Arteries are blood vessels that carry oxygen-rich blood from the heart to other parts of the body. If an aneurysm grows large, it can burst and cause dangerous bleeding or even death.

The signs and symptoms of various types of aneurysm (abdominal aortic and cerebral aneurysms) are outlined in this National Heart Lung and Blood Institute page:

What Are the Signs and Symptoms of an Aneurysm?

Your Aneurysm

Reading these overviews of aneurysm will help you understand your own condition and put together questions to discuss with your doctor:

• WebMD:  Understanding the Basics of Aneurysm
• MedlinePlus: Interactive Patient Tutorial - Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm
• Brainaneurysm.com: Treatment of Brain Aneurysms

A general guide from the American Heart Association on when to get a second (or third) medical opinion:

Second Medical Opinions

Not sure what to ask your doctor? Here's a good place to start:

Healthscout.com: Questions to Ask Your Doctor About Aneurysms

Your World

Emotions like depression and anxiety are common for those who've been diagnosed with an aneurysm. Here's a good place to find help through this very difficult time:

The Brain Aneurysm Foundation - Support and Recovery

The American Cancer Society offers first-rate advice on telling others about a serious medical diagnosis like aneurysm:

American Cancer Society: Breaking the News About Your Diagnosis

Information and Recommended Links for Survivors

• Aortic Aneurysm: Treatment and Drugs - Mayoclinic.com
• Ruptured and Unruptured Brain Aneurysm Treatments - The Aneurysm and AVM Foundation
• Treatment Options for Cerebral Aneurysms - Neurosurgerytoday.org
• Treatment Considerations Related to Abdominal Aortic Aneursym - Mayoclinic.com

Types of Treatment

Surgery

Surgery is the most common form of treatment for aneurysms and may be needed immediately, before an aneurysm has ruptured or to stop the bleeding of an already-ruptured aneurysm:

How Is an Aneurysm Treated? - National Heart Lung and Blood Institute

Here are some commonly used surgical techniques for treating a cerebral aneurysm, from the Brain Aneurysm Foundation:

• Clipping
• Occlusion and Bypass
• Endovascular Coiling or Coiling

Creating a Support Circle

• Set up your TSC survivor profile.
• Join support groups of other survivors or set up your own.
• Interact with other survivors and offer updates.

Health-care Providers Who Can Help

If you have a brain aneurysm you will be treated by a neurosurgeon. The American Association of Neurological Surgeons can help you find a board-certified specialist through its website:

Find a Board-Certified Neurosurgeon

A vascular surgeon will help you if you have an aortic aneurysm in another part of your body outside of the heart and brain. The Society for Vascular Surgery offers its database to help you find a qualified specialist in your area:

Find a Vascular Specialist

Books Survivors Recommend

• The Brain Aneurysm by Vini G. Khurana
• Brain, Heal Thyself: A Caregiver's New Approach to Recovery from Stroke, Aneurysm, and Traumatic Brain Injuries by Madonna Siles and Lawrence J. Beuret
• Walking in Fear...How I Was Introduced to my Brain Aneurysms
• My Stroke of Insight: A Brain Scientist's Personal Journey by Jill Bolte Taylor

Dealing with An Aneurysm: Information for Co-Survivors

How You Can Help

• Share books and resources that helped you with other co-survivors and/or your survivor.
• Be willing to talk and share experiences with others.
• Create a TSC co-survivor profile and participate in the TSC community.

What to Say

• Be supportive.
• Help other co-survivors understand they are not alone.
• Reassure your survivor that there is life beyond dealing with an aneurysm.

What Not to Say

• Don't be overly negative.
• Don't trivialize your survivor's concerns.
• Don't focus on this condition or situation as the defining moment of the person's life.

Things you can do for a survivor every day

• Lend an ear when your survivor needs one.
• Collect reputable, authoritative books or articles on the topic.
• Empathize and share your own experiences with hardship or a health crisis.

How to build a support network

• Set up your TSC co-survivor profile.
• Create a support group for your friend/family member.
• Interact and provide updates.

Recovery and Recurrence

If you have another aneurysm try not to become discouraged. You have faced this battle once and came out of it successfully. Take what you learned to help you through your last experience with an aneurysm; it will serve you well again. Here's how to find support:

• The Brain Aneurysm Foundation:  Message Board/Online Support Groups

Maintaining a healthy lifestyle is essential to preventing the recurrence of an aneurysm. Here's some good advice about prevention:

• About.com - Preventing Aortic Aneurysms
• The Aneurysm and AVM Foundation - Prevention of Brain Aneurysms
• MedlinePlus: Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm - Prevention

Having an aneurysm rupture greatly increases your risk for death. Less than 40 percent of patients with a ruptured abdominal aneurysm survive. Your risk for death also climbs if you're having surgery, whether to repair a unruptured or ruptured aneurysm: 

Brain Aneurysm Foundation: Risks and Complications of Aneurysm Surgery

But surgery is sometimes required, so it becomes a necessary risk in a dire situation. Brain damage following a ruptured aneurysm is a serious risk as well. 

When You're Facing Death

• FamilyDoctor.org: Cancer - Palliative Care
• MedlinePlus: Hospice Care
• Medicinenet.com: Loss, Grief and Bereavement