SAH Advice

[Lubilu01]

Has anyone had 2 relations or more who have had a Subarachnoid haemorrhage? I am just wondering if screening was suggested to other relatives. I mentioned it to my G.P but she advise it wasn't necessary.

[ncmurphy1951]

probabl best notr to sah is a weakness in a vessel i had since birth to be safe advise relkatives to ask for an mri scan

[Lubilu01]

Thanks Neil, i did ask following both my parents having a SAH but the doc looked into it and came back saying its not something they feel necessary!

[ncmurphy1951]

as an aside m injur a 2007 sah had a few friends worried the may have a weekness 3 of them paid for a scan 2 luckil were found to have wee problems not in brain but in heart pays to err on the side of caution my injury dec 2007 in aug 2007 ni had a insurance medical and given ol,ympic athlete standard but who was to knosw that in my brain there was a weak wall on a blood vessel

[Lubilu01 in reply to ncmurphy1951]

I know, my Dad always went for a well man check up and had various things checked. He was very fit and healthy but as you say nobody knew he had a problem lurking in his head x

[Alicedenham]

I have the inherited condition! My sister had a aneurysm two years before mind. Screening wasn't recommended at that point but two years I had my aneurysm my consultant recommended that my other two sisters go for a MRI scan. Fortunately they were clear and no aneurysm were found in their brains, thankfully. Personally I would go back to the consultants that treated your parents and get a professional opinion about the inherited condition rather than speak to your GP who may not have the appropriate in depth knowledge. I hope this helps rather than hinders. Good luck.

[Lubilu01 in reply to Alicedenham]

Thank you Alicedenham. It's a tricky one and something I have been unsure about as I have heard that even if they find an aneurysm they don't always treat it, instead they just watch and wait. I am not sure i would handle it if this were the case! But I have a lovely 4 year old son and feel I should consider my options for his sake. I may contact Headway to ask if they can offer some advice. Thanks again for your reply, take care xx

[spideyman]

Aneurysms that burst and cause a SAH are congenital and not hereditary

[Alicedenham in reply to spideyman]

"Cerebral aneurysms can be congenital, resulting from an inborn abnormality in an artery wall.  Cerebral aneurysms are also more common in people with certain genetic diseases inherited from their parents". In my case I have inherited condition.

[Lubilu01]

I have heard this too Alicedenham, that is why I asked if anyone has had others in their family who have experienced SAH. Obviously my mum and dad are not related so it could be completely random in our case butas I have a family member on either side who have had this I want to do a bit of homework! X

[Alicedenham in reply to Lubilu01]

I am not alone Lubilu01. A friend of mine has the same condition as me. His brother had an aneurysm and then he went onto have one a few years later. His others brothers (like my sisters) didn't have any when they were scanned. My friends mother had one and then he went on to have one too. However his children (who are in their thirties) have been scan and all is well. I think like you I would want to talk to someone. The prevention of ruptured aneurysms is not really talked about much and I think you are REALLY brave to ask the question. I sincerely hope that someone will listen to you! There is a great site that will listen - bafound.org/ they work to reduce the incidence of brain aneurysm ruptures through awareness and research. They might be able to give you more information. You are a sensible women and in my view you are right to be concerned. Good luck xx

[Lubilu01 in reply to Alicedenham]

Thanks so much, I will check the link out. Your comments have been really helpful, thanks again for your support, best wishes, Helen xx

[spideyman]

After my SAH one of my sisters had an MRI scan. Nothing was amiss

[Crocus]

Behind the grey is a pretty good SAH site for real experiences post sah, I've seen a similar thread on there about this. My doctors said if there's more thn two incidences in a family you should get children scanned. .

[MetalMissT]

I also read that if there are 2 or more incidences of SAH in the family history then your children should be scanned. But you try getting that done on the NHS!!! It seems to be the policy in the UK to 'wait and see' - in my experience anyway.

My SAH happened totally unexpectedly, I'd had no warning or illness before hand. After the surgery to clip I was given no advice about whether this was a hereditary condition, just that it was 'more than likely' a congenital defect. I was given a angiogram during the surgery so the surgeon could be sure there were no more weak arteries in my brain.

I did ask my GP if this condition could be heredity as I have 3 children, as usual - my GP didn't know lol seems they don't know much at all about brain conditions! So I looked on the internet and asked my Consultant Neuro Psychologist. he too wasn't sure, he said that it was a congenital defect and that there is no real evidence to suggest it is hereditary - but that there was evidence that it does run in families - contradictory or what!! So if you can afford to pay for the scan it might be best to have one, but tbh I can't see the NHS paying for a costly MRI scan 'just in case'.

Its a ridiculous policy, a friend of mine in Australia went for a MRI scan because of a cance scare (thankfully he was cancer free) but they did find a weak artery in his brain, so he had a op to fix it before it burst. He was back at work within 10 days. Which is a damn sight better than me, who had a burst...an emergency op and am still suffering all the usual crap that comes after SAH 5 years later.

So yes, prevention is better that the cure!!

[Lubilu01]

Thanks for getting back to me. I spoke to my G.P. and explained both my parents have had a SAH and she went away for advice and came back to say there was no real need to be screened, however I have read so many stories of people who have had at least one family member that has had a bleed and they have either gone on to have one themselves or one has been picked up following a scan. The tricky thing would be if you decided to be screened and they found a weakness but it was decided to monitor it rather than treat it. I have read about lots of people where this has been the case and I am not sure i would be able to cope knowing there was a potential problem that wasn't treated. It's such a minefield. The Americans are very big on awareness but I really don't think we are at all here. I don't get it as surely the cost of screening and treating in advance is less than treating and caring once a bleed has occurred. My Dads was in August last year and he is still in hospital unable to walk or speak. My mum was in approx 8-10 weeks. X

[Winb143]

I have a daughter and I am worried for her as my Aunt (Dads sister) died after brain op and her son !!

I had an SAH in 2009 but my daughter doesn't want a scan grrrr.