Cerebral aneurysms, or brain aneurysms, occur when there is a bulge in a blood vessel in your head. The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke states there are three classifications of cerebral aneurysms: a fusiform aneurysm, or blood vessel wall widening; a lateral aneurysm, or a blood vessel wall bulge; and the most common form, the saccular aneurysm that grows out as a pouch from the artery or blood vessel. While brain aneurysms are more common in adults, they can happen to anyone, no matter your age.
Ruptured
The Mayo Clinic reports there may be no symptoms at all of an aneurysm when it still is intact. Most often, a small aneurysm only may be detected when your physician is giving you tests for other problems. Once it has ruptured, however, it can cause severe symptoms. The most common is a very severe and sudden-onset headache. Other symptoms, too, may come upon you rapidly if an aneurysm breaks. These may include mental confusion, vomiting and nausea, sudden unconsciousness and neck stiffness. There also may be vision problems such as blurry vision or diplopia, which is the medical term for seeing double, and you may notice one of your eyelids drooping.
The other common symptom is a sudden seizure, particularly if you never have experienced one previously. Since any rupture of an aneurysm can be fatal---the Mayo Clinic states approximately 50 percent of them are---it is important to get to the emergency room of your local hospital immediately if you have any symptoms, particularly a blinding, sudden headache unlike any you have had previously.
Unruptured
If your aneurysm grows to a larger-than-average size, yet has not ruptured, it can induce some symptoms. Some of these are similar to symptoms experienced with a ruptured aneurysm such as eyelid drooping and vision changes such as diplopia. Other unruptured aneurysm symptoms include a single dilated pupil, pain that occur behind and above your eye and facial problems such as full paralysis, weakness or numbness of either the left or right side of your face.
Leaking
Both an unruptured and leaking aneurysm can be signs of a rupture to come, the Mayo Clinic reports. A leaking aneurysm means that a small amount of blood has escaped from the aneurysm---which is called a sentinel bleed---can give you a severe and sudden headache. The Mayo Clinic notes this nearly always leads to a full rupture of your aneurysm.
