Mom recently discovered 2 aneurysms

General
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I hope other family members comment here. My mom was just in the hospital this past week where she found out she has 2 aneurysms. Firstly, there is an odd part to this story, that I wonder if others can shed any light on.
So she has been having vertigo for awhile but wouldn’t go to the dr. She’s also had memory issues for a long while (her mom had memory issues as well, so it’s hard to tell what the issue is there). Well, Monday she threw up and didn’t tell anyone. She waited, had bad vertigo. Then Wed, couldn’t even get out of bed. She finally went to the hospital. They said she had or was about to have a small heart attack and she has two masses on the brain. They checked her chest and things, and the heart attack thing was never really followed up on, which I find very strange. They didn’t get a cardio person or even do an EKG according to my mom. Her blood pressure was very high 200/119 or something horrible like that. So apparently she has had uncontrolled blood pressure for a long time and never did anything about it. I understand blood pressure has to do with a heart attack, but isn’t 1st step to do an ekg? Unless she doesn’t want to tell me the truth or something. I asked her multiple times and looked at paperwork. Nothing mentions heart attack. Was it actually a stroke? Seizure? Very strange imo.
Anyway, then they told her that they thought she had brain cancer, but it’s actually two aneurysms (why even bring up the brain cancer?). They told her she needs to get her blood pressure down before she gets the procedure and to stop smoking. So they prescribed her Lisinopril and discharged her.
Is it normal to discharge someone with high blood pressure and 2 anuerysms after having what they say is a possible heart attack? I feel better reading a lot of success stories on here and the fact they found them. She is in her early 60s.

I do want to add that they scheduled a follow up this week and she is to record her BP twice a day and then another follow up. Then she is to have a procedure for them. It doesn’t seem like they know which procedure they are doing yet.

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Hi Plastics, welcome to this site. Glad you found us but sorry you had to. One thing you learn pretty quickly about aneurysms is that everyone’s experience is unique. That makes it hard. Aneurysms are sometimes not diagnosed right away. My husband looked like he as having a heart attack at first. It was only as they did tests and ruled things out over several days that they found his aneurysm. We went through three other diagnoses before we got there. Doctors can tell from blood work ( cardiac enzymes) if a person has had a heart attack. The medical people may well have had several conversations about your Mom’s condition and diagnosis that you are not are of as their care for her evolved. If you can, put that part of the experience behind you so that you can focus on what you do know and what lies ahead. The staff will be watching your Mom’s heart and will pick up any concerns. We are here and can offer our experience, strength and hope.

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Thank you. That’s what I’m finding out which makes it hard. The fact that every story is different and that anything could happen. My mom now says she did get an ekg. They did tell her something but I think because it scares her, she maybe wasn’t fully listening. They didn’t give her an appt with a cardiologist though. She sees a doc this week who I think will explain that part better to her. But she’s worried they are going to tell her more is wrong with her, which makes her blood pressure higher.
Her BP came down a lot since being home. And she says she hasn’t smoked. Today she said she felt lightheaded though…I don’t know why.

She gets bored because she isn’t supposed to be doing anything. Does anyone have suggestions on what she can do? I suggested games, but she says she gets aggravated even playing games.

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Also, is it normal to be very tired from having aneurysms? She hasn’t even had a procedure yet, but she says she always feels tired. I don’t know if it’s related or because of her sleeping issues.

Also, the doctor wants a stool sample from her. Would this have anything to do with the aneurysm brain situation ?? I doubt it, but I’m just concerned there is something else now.

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They check stool on orderly people , it’s standart , to find out if there is blood in it that is evidence of colon problems , if they find , they will schedule colonoscopy . Again its a part of standard tests for physical check ups. It looks like better to go with your mom everywhere to her appointments …

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Thank you for the responses.

My mom had her follow up today. She has two aneurysms. One is giant. She has to get an angiogram. They think for the one they will have to go through her groin to coil. And the other through her skull. They told her if it bursts she will die or not be the same again.
I’m very scared for her and for myself. Anyone would be scared, but my mom has avoided doctors until now (probably why she is in this situation) so I can only imagine how everything sounds to her. I just don’t know what I’ll do if something happens.
She has to wait until February just for the angiogram. I’m worried about them waiting this long to get these things done.

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She needs to be calm and careful not stressing out before February angiogram … thinking about every risk is normal , but thinking positively helps a lot .

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It’s very hard for her to not be anxious. But she so far hasn’t smoked in 3 weeks. And she doesn’t do any heavy lifting. Her blood pressure is much better now. But she gets worked up easily.

Is it normal for them to wait months to do a procedure?

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Each case would be different, but waiting may be the hardest part.

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I agree that waiting is hard. I had to wait from mid-Sept. to Dec. 5 to have my large cerebral aneurysm treated. I now have 21 coils and 2 stents. Your mother will have her angiogram in Feb. hopefully followed by treatment and all will be well.

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Hi, thanks for the feedback. I wanted to give an update.
My mom found out she is to have her procedure March 27th. She has to have two, but that will be her first one. She has some extra issues because as I mentioned, she also had a mild heart attack. So she has to get bloodwork and some other things done because of that. Also, her BP always goes up when she goes to these appointments on top of it.
Her one annie is going to be coiled, but the bigger one she had to choose. She chose to try the coil first. He said he may need to stop mid surgery if it doesn’t work. He told her if he does the brain surgery it has a 10% chance of stroke. That’s a 90% that it will be okay though, but she of course was very upset.
They have to make sure her blood isn’t too thin during the procedure. But she may also need to take meds for the heart attack issue. It seems like a complicated thing with her having this BP issue on top of it all.
The one annie is bigger, and the neck is as large as the other part, that’s the one that the coil might not work for.

Anyway, it doesn’t really seem much different than what other people are posting about their experience. Minus the heart attack, which is causing an extra problem. But at least she knows a day now.

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Glad she has a date! There’s always risk of anesthesia, why folks don’t think of that I will never know, perhaps because the risk is low. I’ve heard anesthiologists say “there’s no risk”, we are knowledgeable now to correct them. And the doc is putting a tube in an artery, passing the heart and going into the brain. Once at the spot, there’s some shuffling inside the tube for the coils and those get packed in to the aneurysm. She won’t feel a thing, once they use the drugs on her.

I’ve had more angiograms than I can count on two hands, three being for coils. I was scolded once for interrupting a Doctor who was a student for anesthiology. He had the talk memorized, but not learned. It was great fun for me. I also tease my Neurosurgeon and ask if she ate, does she need to go potty, and ask her to please not sneeze when she has those tubes in my artery. She tells me not to move and I’ll be fine. We get along great!

He may need to stop midsurgery to put in a stent or try another procedure, that’s always been what we’ve been told. I started having my hair cut real short before the procedural angiograms, just in case they needed to shave my head and do a craniotomy. I wanted my hairdo to be as balanced as possible, it never is, one side is always longer than the other and that’s without her going through my skull. So far, nothing but coils. Not complaining, but someday I’d like a haircut that’s even on both sides.

Does your mom have a hobby? Does she like to read books, woodcarving, pyrography, crochet, embroidery, puzzles? She needs a hobby that won’t require lifting weight. Maybe she’d like a go at calligraphy? Or those adult coloring books with a nice set of colored pencils. If you color with her, it may prove to be a good time.

She will need to keep her leg elevated for a bit. A recliner is handy, but a pillow under her legs with her feet resting on the arm of the couch is comfy. She will have a list of papers at discharge that she needs to follow, so make sure someone goes over those so the family knows her rules. And someone will have to stay with her for we think three days, can’t remember exactly. If y’all have to work, and can’t use FMLA time, get the doctor to write an order for someone to come in while y’all are at work.

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I have 2 symmetrical
Aneurysms…possibility of genetic factors!

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So my mom had her first surgery. It went well and she didn’t need to go through the skull. She says she is feeling good just days after it and that it wasn’t as bad as she thought.
She has to get more tests done and then she will be having her second surgery. They told her the next one is the complicated one, but they have to go through the groin again to do it. But the procedure may take longer.

The other day she did throw up, which I found worrying. She said it was from eating and she said she was fine otherwise. But I don’t know what that was from. She had a heart attack on top of the aneurysms. She didn’t bother telling anyone about throwing up until days later.

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Glad your mom did well the first go around. I can certainly relate to your mom not wanting to tell anyone about throwing up. It gives her some control and she’s not worrying everyone more. There are a few symptoms that they look for after surgery and it’s about three or four. Stiff neck, throwing up and headache, I think they are. Ask the doctor or look at her discharge papers. They should have listed the symptoms she is supposed to monitor and get back to hospital immediately. If it’s not on the discharge, they may have given her a listat pre admission.

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My mom just had her 2nd procedure. Everyone was looking forward to this being the end, but just in the past month or so, the big annie got even bigger. He still did the procedure. He’s going to have her go on a steroid for some reason to help with it. He said he might even need to go back in and put another stent.

Why would it get bigger all of a sudden? It’s been the same size until now.

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From what I can tell on various studies, it’s the thinning of the artery wall. Though I couldn’t find any specifics, there are the regular things such as smoking, stress, and high blood pressure along with certain medications and drugs. There also seems to be a pattern of rest and then rapid growth. Sorry I can’t give definitive answer, you may want to ask her doctor.