Terrifying symptoms of brain aneurysms you should never ignore

You've heard scary stories about it. You've seen Grey's Anatomy enough to know you should be scared. Nearly 90% of people don't know what it is. But what exactly is a brain aneurysm?

According to a top New York neurologist, a brain aneurysm is a weakness in the wall of your brain's blood vessel. The vessel inflates, forming a bulge. It looks like a balloon and may pop too, leaking blood into your brain.

The scary thing is, people with aneurysms don't know they have one until it pops. "Until a rupture or leak occurs, many people are walking around with an aneurysm and don't know it," said Dr. Howard Riina to Prevention.com.

Dr. Riina suspects that nearly 9% of people aren't aware they have an aneurysm, because many times, it doesn't pop.

While so few people don't know they have an aneurysm, it's important to look out for it's symptoms. That's because up to 50% of people may die "as soon as an aneurysm ruptures".

So what does it feel like?

According to Dr. Riina, an aneurysm can feel like you've been struck by lightening. It can accompany facial tingling, neck stiffness, blurry vision, weakness and sensitivity to light. Many times, Dr. Riina's patients feel a headache behind their eyes.

It goes unsaid that if you experience any of these symptoms, go to the ER. The earlier diagnosis, the better -- but even after the aneurysm is relieved by a doctor, "you're not out of the woods yet," Dr. Riina warns.

Scroll through to see the very serious symptoms of a stroke:

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