What is a brain aneurysm and what happened to Dr Dre?
15 June 2021, 17:55
Dr Dre was hospitalised after suffering a brain aneurysm earlier this week.
Dr Dre suffered a brain aneurysm on Monday (Jan 4) and was taken Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles for treatment.
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The 55-year-old rap legend is "feeling fantastic" after successfully recovering from the brain aneurysm.
In a recent interview with Los Angeles Times, the rapper opened up about his illness in depth for the first time.
“It’s a really weird thing. I’ve never had high blood pressure. And I’ve always been a person that has always taken care of my health.
“But there’s something that happens for some reason with Black men and high blood pressure, and I never saw that coming. But I’m taking care of myself” Dr. Dre continued.
“And I think every Black man should just check that out and make sure things are OK with the blood pressure."
"I’m going to move on and, hopefully, live a long and healthy life,” he assured his fans. Dre then gave the community an update on how he feels currently saying, “I’m feeling fantastic.”
Shortly after he suffered the brain aneurysm, Dr. Dre returned to social media to reassure his fans that he was successfully recovering and being cared for following the incident. "I'm doing great and getting excellent care from my medical team," he wrote on Instagram.
"I will be out of the hospital and back home soon. Shout out to all the great medical professionals at Cedars. One Love!!"
What is a brain aneurysm?
An aneurysm is a bulge in a blood vessel caused by a weakness in the blood vessel wall, causing a small area to bulge outwards like a balloon.
They can develop in any blood vessel in the body, but are most likely to occur in the brain or the abdominal aorta.
Most brain aneurysms only cause noticeable symptoms if they burst, which leads to a very serious condition known as a subarachnoid haemorrhage. This is where bleeding caused by the ruptured aneurysm can cause extensive brain damage and can be fatal.
While it's still unclear what exactly causes then, you're more likely to get a brain aneurysm if you smoke, have high blood pressure or have a family history of them.
What is the survival rate?
Most aneurysms do not rupture, and treatment is generally only carried out if the chance of rupture is particularly high.
Symptoms of a subarachnoid haemorrhage include; a sudden agonising headache resulting in a blinding pain, a stiff neck, sickness and vomiting and pain upon looking at light.
About 3 in 5 people who have a subarachnoid haemorrhage die within 2 weeks, and 50% of survivors are left with severe brain damage and disability.
(Source: NHS)
