English actor Emilia Clarke, best known for playing Daenerys Targaryen in the series Game of Thrones, opened up about her life post brain aneurysms, emphasising that she is ‘missing parts of her brain’ after surviving the health scare twice.

“The amount of my brain that is no longer usable – it’s remarkable that I am able to speak, sometimes articulately, and live my life completely normally with absolutely no repercussions. I am in the really, really, really small minority of people that can survive that,” she said in an interview with BBC.

Also Read: COVID-19: Scientists lift veil on brain fog

Talking about her brain scans post-surgery, she said that there is quite a bit missing.

“Because strokes, basically, as soon as any part of your brain doesn’t get blood for a second, it’s gone. And so the blood finds a different route to get around but then whatever bit it’s missing is therefore gone,” the 35-year-old actor said. 

Also Read: Can magic mushrooms treat depression? Here’s what studies say

What is Intracranial Aneurysm?

An aneurysm is a bulging or ballooning in a blood vessel in the brain, which may burst or leak, resulting in brain haemorrhage (hemorrhagic stroke). A ruptured aneurysm can become life-threatening very soon and requires immediate medical treatment. However, most brain aneurysms don’t rupture, causing no health problems. Such aneurysms are often only detected during tests for other brain conditions. Treatment, however, maybe required in some cases in order prevent a rupture in the future, Mayo Clinic reported. 

Hypertension, cigarette smoking, injury or trauma to blood vessels and complication from some types of blood infections are some of the factors that contribute to aneurysm formation. 

Symptoms of an unruptured brain aneurysm- 

  1. Loss of vision or double vision
  2. Numbness or weakness on one side of the face
  3. Difficulty in speaking
  4. Constant headaches.
  5. Loss of balance.
  6. Difficulty concentrating 
  7. Problems with short-term memory

Survival rate –

According to Cleveland Clinic, about 75% of people with a ruptured brain aneurysm survive more than 24 hours. A quarter of the them, however, may suffer from life-ending complications within the next six months.