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Lifestyle and home remedies
By Mayo Clinic staffIf you have an unruptured brain aneurysm, you may lower the risk of its rupture by making these lifestyle changes:
- Don't smoke or use recreational drugs. If you smoke or use recreational drugs, talk to your doctor about strategies or an appropriate treatment program to help you quit.
- Eat a healthy diet and exercise. Changes in diet and exercise can help lower blood pressure. Talk to your doctor about changes appropriate for you.
- Limit caffeine. Caffeine is a stimulant that can cause a sudden increase in blood pressure.
- Avoid straining. Sudden, forceful and sustained exertion of the type you expend when you lift heavy weights can cause a sudden increase in blood pressure.
- Be cautious of aspirin use. Talk to your doctor before taking aspirin or other drugs that inhibit blood clotting, because they may increase blood loss if you do have a ruptured aneurysm.
References
- Cerebral aneurysm fact sheet. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/cerebral_aneurysm/detail_cerebral_aneurysm.htm. Accessed Feb. 28, 2011.
- Singer RJ, et al. Treatment of aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Feb. 18, 2011.
- Cerebral aneurysm. American Association of Neurological Surgeons. http://www.aans.org/Patient%20Information/Conditions%20and%20Treatments/Cerebral%20Aneurysm.aspx. Accessed Feb. 28, 2011.
- Singer RJ, et al. Unruptured intracranial aneurysms. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Feb. 18, 2011.
- Westerlaan HE, et al. Intracranial aneurysms in patients with subarachnoid hemorrhage: CT angiography as a primary examination tool for diagnosis - a systematic review and meta-analysis. Radiology. 2011;258:134.
- Naggara ON, et al. Endovascular treatment of intracranial unruptured aneurysms: Systematic review and meta-analysis of the literature on safety and efficacy. Radiology. 2010;256:887.
- Hacein-Bey L, et al. Current imaging assessment and treatment of intracranial aneurysms. American Journal of Roentgenology. 2011;196:32.
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