Sam Messina, a student at the University of Alabama (USA), recounted a terrifying moment: After sneezing, he saw blood coming out of his nostrils. He was terrified: "My brain almost exploded and blood came out of my nostrils. I thought I was dead," according to Times Now News.
After waking up, the patient had tingling in his hands and blurred vision, which is when doctors realized he had a brain hemorrhage.
An American student nearly lost his life after a sneeze caused a stroke.
After emergency surgery, doctors ran further tests and discovered that Sam had an arteriovenous malformation (AVM), a neurological condition that causes a disruption of the blood vessels connecting arteries and veins in the brain.
According to the UK National Health Service (NHS), this is a rare condition and affects less than 1% of people. According to medical experts, AVMs often go undetected for many years until they rupture and cause bleeding in the brain.
What is an arteriovenous malformation?
According to doctors, arteriovenous malformations are blood vessel disorders that cause abnormal connections between arteries and veins. Most occur in the brain and spinal cord, but they can occur anywhere in the body. Many people have symptoms, which can include bleeding in the brain.
Medical experts say that in people with AVMs, the capillary bridge between an artery and a vein is faulty, causing a malformation that can start anywhere along the blood vessel.
The force of blood flowing from the arteries puts a lot of pressure on the AVM. If the vein can't handle the blood pressure, it can burst and bleed.
Signs and symptoms
AVM can cause symptoms: Seizures with or without loss of consciousness, headache, muscle weakness, paralysis, nausea and vomiting, numbness or tingling sensation, dizziness, mental confusion, hallucinations or memory loss, back pain.
AVMs are usually diagnosed with MRI and angiography. Tests may need to be repeated to analyze changes in the size of the AVM.
If left untreated, AVMs can grow larger and rupture, causing brain hemorrhage or subarachnoid hemorrhage, leading to permanent brain damage or even death, according to Times Now News .
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