Brain aneurysms are sometimes found incidentally in patients who have imaging scans for another reason. The questions that come immediately to the patient's and a doctor's mind are: Are these patients at high risk of subarachnoid hemorrhage? When should they see a stroke specialist, and should incidental aneurysms always be treated? What is the risk of an unruptured brain aneurysm?
Rupture risk assessment is complex and depends on many factors. When an aneurysm is found incidentally, it is recommended that the patient consult a Vascular Neurosurgeon for evaluation and discussion of risk and treatment options. While there is no concrete data from literature, 7 mm is generally considered the outer limit of a “small” aneurysm. Lesions smaller than 7 mm carry between 0.5 to 5 percent risk of rupture in the next five years, while a 12-mm aneurysm has a risk as high as 12 percent and a…
