Anyone have aneurysm in their families?

Re: Anyone have aneurysm in their families?

• skoogirl

  January 2013

  My aunt (not related by blood to me) died from an aneursym in her neck at just 38 yo.  Her daughters (my cousins) have since had MRIs to make sure that their circulatory systems are healthy.  I think this is something you should discuss with your doctor.  On a positive note though, I think it is incredibly rare for something like that to occur and hopefully your doctor can give some comfort that you will be fine.  Everything in life has risks and we cannot live in constant fear.  My little cousin was hit by a car and killed instantly, my former boss died from a blood clot suddenly, and my former coworker died from brain cancer at just 25.  Life is very delicate and you never know when you're time is up, so you can just treasure every day and hope for the best.

  

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• Casie13

  January 2013

  skoogirl:

  My aunt (not related by blood to me) died from an aneursym in her neck at just 38 yo.  Her daughters (my cousins) have since had MRIs to make sure that their circulatory systems are healthy.  I think this is something you should discuss with your doctor.  On a positive note though, I think it is incredibly rare for something like that to occur and hopefully your doctor can give some comfort that you will be fine.  Everything in life has risks and we cannot live in constant fear.  My little cousin was hit by a car and killed instantly, my former boss died from a blood clot suddenly, and my former coworker died from brain cancer at just 25.  Life is very delicate and you never know when you're time is up, so you can just treasure every day and hope for the best.

  Couldn't have said it better! That's a very positive way to look at things, Skoogirl. There are no guarantees in life, so just try to enjoy every minute of it! 

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• Casie13

  January 2013

  skoogirl:

  My aunt (not related by blood to me) died from an aneursym in her neck at just 38 yo.  Her daughters (my cousins) have since had MRIs to make sure that their circulatory systems are healthy.  I think this is something you should discuss with your doctor.  On a positive note though, I think it is incredibly rare for something like that to occur and hopefully your doctor can give some comfort that you will be fine.  Everything in life has risks and we cannot live in constant fear.  My little cousin was hit by a car and killed instantly, my former boss died from a blood clot suddenly, and my former coworker died from brain cancer at just 25.  Life is very delicate and you never know when you're time is up, so you can just treasure every day and hope for the best.

  Couldn't have said it better! That's a very positive way to look at things, Skoogirl. There are no guarantees in life, so just try to enjoy every minute of it! 

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• NicoleSB80 member

  January 2013

  Yeah, I'm not stressing day to day about it more just letting the movie get to me and wondering if I were to have a unknown aneurysm now would all the pushing result in a burst.   

  

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• skoogirl

  January 2013

  NicoleSB80:

  Yeah, I'm not stressing day to day about it more just letting the movie get to me and wondering if I were to have a unknown aneurysm now would all the pushing result in a burst.   

  There's no real way to know that as its very hypothetical, but in my experience, the pushing wasn't as theatrical as it is on TV and I pushed for 2.5 hours.  You push in 10 second increments (the nurses and doctors will tell you how/when) and you do your best.  Sneezing might be more dangerous for someone with an undiagnosed aneurysm.

  

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• nessahm member

  January 2013

  skoogirl:

  My aunt (not related by blood to me) died from an aneursym in her neck at just 38 yo.  Her daughters (my cousins) have since had MRIs to make sure that their circulatory systems are healthy.  I think this is something you should discuss with your doctor.  On a positive note though, I think it is incredibly rare for something like that to occur and hopefully your doctor can give some comfort that you will be fine.  Everything in life has risks and we cannot live in constant fear.  My little cousin was hit by a car and killed instantly, my former boss died from a blood clot suddenly, and my former coworker died from brain cancer at just 25.  Life is very delicate and you never know when you're time is up, so you can just treasure every day and hope for the best.

  You said it perfectly.

   Op - I completely understand your concerns and I definitely encourage you to talk your doctor about how you're feeling. I don't know too much about brain aneurysms but I do that doctors won't readily requests scans on pregnant women unless they feel it is absolutely necessary.  

  

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• JanessLynn member

  January 2013

  My aunt (dad's sister) had an aneurism when she was a teenager but made a full recovery.  Since I have become pregnant I have taken the family medical history much more seriously and plan to have an MRI MRA soon after I deliver.  I've had horrible headaches and migraines throughout my pregnancy, and both my primary care doctor and OB cleared me for an MRI MRA while pregnant as long as I didn't have the gadolinium injection.. but it seems like no doctor who performs them want to touch me with a 10ft pole during my pregnancy.  Made me nervous, so after speaking to my OB regarding the tests again he said as long as my headaches don't seem to be getting more frequent or worse, that I'm fine to wait until after delivery.  

  

  
  

   

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• fireflyz56 member

  January 2013

  Yes, my grandmother on my dad's side died when she was 26, only a few months after giving birth to my dad, from a brain aneurysm. Then my dad, at 39, had 5 brain aneurysms, and nearly died from them as well.

  So I completely understand your concern. I mentioned my family history to my doctor at our first appointment because I was worried about this too, and she reassured me that aneurysms are caused by high blood pressure, which thankfully I do not have. I feel better though knowing that she knows my family history, so she'll be on the look-out for any warning signs.

   I would at least make sure your doctor is aware of your history, and get an MRI after the baby is born for your own peace of mind. I had an MRI done last year for this very reason and it's very easy.

   

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• NicoleSB80 member

  January 2013

  tairairat:

  My mom had a brain aneurysm six years ago.  She survived, with no complications.  Miracle in itself.

  Her doctor told her that my sister and I have no higher risk of suffering from an aneurysm than anyone else.

   

   

  hmmm,  I wonder if there are different kinds of them?  My gma's medical team told us they were genetic and we were all at higher risk, specifically the women in the family.   Hence the reason for the reoccuring MRI's.   

  

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• NicoleSB80 member

  January 2013

  chgibeau:

  Definetly talk with your doctor. I'm not sure how this didn't come up in your family history before.  At my first appointment, it came up that my Grandmother died of a burst aneurysm and my brother, at age 16, had surgery to fix his before it burst (He had a 1% chance of making it out of surgery w/o being brain dead and he did! This was in 1986). She asked if it was due to something or due to something else. I don't remember what those two somethings were though. Sorry. But I told her it was the other and she said good, then I shouldn't be affected during pregnancy. But if it had been the other, then I'd have to be monitored more closely.

  Have you had any symptoms? Both my grandma and brother had horrible headaches.

   

  I've always suffered from migraines that thankfully have gotten better since pregnancy (I was worried they would get worse and I wouldn't be able to medicate).    As far as the history, like I said, it was in the back of my mind and from the list of questions the doctor had we covered alot of issues like heart, diabetes, BP, cancer, mental issues, etc but the specific question of aneurysn didn't come up and at the time I wasn't thinking it importantly related to pregnancy.    It all came down to watching a stupid movie to make me think it might matter.  

  

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• KMLilly143

  January 2013

  Not that this is very helpful but I had a friend of a friend who passed after delivery like this and since hearing her story it's def on my "irrational fear" list. Lame I know but I've def thought about it a few times and it doesn't run in my family. Try not to let it take over your thoughts but def talk to your doctor about it. 

  

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• pomf member

  January 2013

  I am having an MRA next year 6 months after delivering. I got checked and had an echo since aneurysms run in my fathers family and the genetic counselor that we saw for prenatal screening urged me to get my heart checked while pregnant. The cardiologist that I saw is an expert in the connective tissue disorder that correlates with a higher rate of aneurysms. He was fairly certain that while I most likely have the disorder I am not at a great risk of having an event right now while pregnant. This is my third pregnancy so I hope he is right. 

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