Brain Aneurysms

An aneurysm is a blood-filled sac or bulge in the wall of an artery, vein or blood vessel. It is due to weakening from disease or injury.

Brain (cerebral) aneurysms occur in the artery wall that supplies blood to your brain. The artery wall can leak or rupture. This leads to bleeding in your brain. It can threaten your life and requires emergency care.

Physicians at IU Health provide the hands-on experience, surgical skill and sophisticated technology required for aneurysm care.

As Indiana’s only certified Comprehensive Stroke Center, IU Health makes up the top two percent of hospitals in the nation for stroke care. If you have an aneurysm, you want physicians at IU Health to oversee your care.

Diagnosis

With a commitment to leading-edge technology, physicians at IU Health will provide diagnostic testing using the latest brain-scan equipment. Our leading-edge technology includes magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computed tomography scan (CT scan), and cerebral angiography imaging.

This imaging allow physicians to pinpoint the exact location, size and shape of an aneurysm. This leads to highly precise and more successful treatment.

Understanding Brain Aneurysms

Physicians at IU Health provide the hands-on experience, surgical skill and sophisticated technology required for aneurysm care.

As Indiana’s only certified Comprehensive Stroke Center, IU Health makes up the top two percent of hospitals in the nation for stroke care. If you have an aneurysm, you want physicians at IU Health to oversee your care.

Diagnosis

With a commitment to leading-edge technology, physicians at IU Health will provide diagnostic testing using the latest brain-scan equipment. Our leading-edge technology includes magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computed tomography scan (CT scan), and cerebral angiography imaging.

This imaging allow physicians to pinpoint the exact location, size and shape of an aneurysm. This leads to highly precise and more successful treatment.

IU Health physicians will use innovative treatment options, including:

Coil Embolization

A radiologist trained in image-guided procedures related to the nervous system will perform this delicate procedure. He or she will insert a thin, flexible tube (catheter) into an artery in the groin. He or she will guide it directly into the aneurysm. Your provider will thread tiny metal coils through the catheter into the aneurysm. The coils will fill the aneurysm, blocking its blood supply and "starving" the aneurysm. This eventually causes it to shrink.

Surgical Clipping

IU Health physicians may use clipping. This surgical procedure cuts off an aneurysm's blood supply. They may use this procedure for ruptured aneurysms as well.