A TEARFUL Kim Kardashian revealed she has a brain aneurysm in the new season of her reality series The Kardashians.
The TV star and SKIMS founder broke down in front of the camera while discussing the worrying diagnosis, saying: “Why the f**k is this happening?”
The 45-year-old’s brain condition was discovered during a routine MRI scan.
An aneurysm is a bulge at a weak point of an artery wall.
Untreated aneurysms can burst open, leading to internal bleeding, or a clot can form.
Depending on the location of the aneurysm, a rupture or clot can be life-threatening.
Read more on brain aneurysms
Kim made the revelation that doctors had detected a “little” aneurysm in her brain scan while chatting to sister Kourtney.
A shocked Kourtney put a hand over her heart and replied: “Whoa.”
Cameras showed Kim getting a scan in an MRI machine, where the dilated blood vessel was detected.
“There’s like a little aneurysm,” Kim said in an extended preview of the Hulu show’s season seven premiere.
“They’re like ‘it’s just stress.’”
She suggested her health troubles could have been triggered by the stress of her divorce from ex-husband Kanye West.
The pair officially split in November 2022, but the process was far from smooth.
Kanye posted tirades against his ex-wife on social media and there have also been issues with co-parenting.
Brain aneurysms are relatively common, with data suggesting they affect about one in every 30 people in the UK.
Most brain aneurysms are small and don’t cause any harm.
In fact, most people never know they have one, as they don’t cause symptoms unless they get bigger or rupture.
If you have a larger aneurysm, you may get symptoms such as:
- A headache
- Pain above or around your eye
- Changes in your vision, such as double vision
- Dizziness and balance problems
- Numbness or weakness on one side of your face
- Difficulty concentrating and speaking
- Problems with your short-term memory
Ask for an urgent GP appointment if you’re plagued by worsening headaches and you have pain above your eye or other brain aneurysm symptoms.
If a brain aneurysm bursts, it can cause a bleed on your brain called a subarachnoid haemorrhage.
The main symptom is of this is a sudden, severe headache that’s sometimes described as a “thunderclap headache”.
Red flag signs a brain aneurysm has ruptured
You should call 999 if you get:
- A headache that’s extremely painful and does not go away
- weakness in the face – one side of the face may droop and it might be hard to smile
- Weakness or numbness in one arm or down one side of the body – it may not be possible to lift both arms fully and keep them there
- Speech problems, such as slurring words, sounding confused, or finding it difficult to speak or find the right words
- Blurred vision or loss of sight in one or both eyes
Source: NHS
If your brain aneurysm is small and not causing symptoms, it doesn’t need treatment.
This is because they often do not get bigger and have a low risk of bursting.
You may just need regular follow-up scans to check if it’s getting bigger.
If there’s a risk of the aneurysm bursting, or if it’s already burst, you might need to undergo surgery.
What causes brain aneurysms?
The cause of a brain aneurysm isn’t always clear.
But smoking, taking drugs like cocaine, having high blood pressure, an injury to a blood vessel in your brain or having a family history of the condition can all up your risk.
It’s not clear if stress can cause aneurysms, but ongoing stress or a sudden burst of anger can increase stress and cause a large one to rupture.
If you do have a brain aneurysm, the NHS advises you stop smoking and keep your blood pressure in check by having it monitored at your GP or pharmacy.
It’s also helpful to stick to a healthy, balanced diet, exercise often and lose weight if you’re overweight.
Don’t drink too much or take drugs.
