• Comment ()  Brain Bleeds More Common in Smokers, Research
Shows  Quitting reduces risk of burst aneurysm, but less so for
pack-a-day folks, study finds  August 30, 2012 RSS Feed Print
THURSDAY, Aug. 30 (HealthDay News) -- Smoking greatly increases
the risk of potentially fatal brain bleeding caused by a burst
aneurysm, a new study warns.  An aneurysm is a bulge in a
weakened artery. If an aneurysm bursts, blood leaks into the
brain. The chances of surviving a burst aneurysm are about 50
percent, and survivors often have lifelong disabilities.  In the
new study, published online Aug. 30 in the Journal of Neurology,
Neurosurgery and Psychiatry, researchers compared 426 people in
South Korea who suffered brain bleeds between 2002 and 2004 with
426 people who did not have a brain bleed. The participants'
average age was 50.  The brain bleed group had a larger number
of smokers and people with a family history of stroke and high
blood pressure. Slightly less than 38 percent of those who had a
brain bleed were c