Brain aneurysm

Brain aneurysm care at Mayo Clinic

Your Mayo Clinic care team

• Mayo Clinic specialists trained in brain conditions (neurologists), brain surgery (neurosurgeons) and nonsurgical treatments (neurosurgeons and neuroradiologists) have experience treating people who have brain aneurysms and other brain and blood vessel conditions (cerebrovascular diseases).
• Mayo Clinic's team approach means your health care providers often can diagnose your particular condition and develop a treatment plan within a few days.

Advanced diagnosis and treatment

• The latest diagnostic tests. Mayo Clinic experts evaluate people who have brain aneurysms with computerized tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, computerized tomography angiography, magnetic resonance angiography, cerebral arteriography, cerebrospinal fluid examination and other tests.

  Your health care provider may use these tests to diagnose an unruptured aneurysm and determine its size, location and other characteristics and assess the aneurysm's risk of rupture. Providers also use these tests to diagnose a ruptured aneurysm, which needs emergency treatment.

• Treatment expertise. Mayo Clinic specialists have wide and varied expertise treating brain aneurysms using the most current approaches:
  • Endovascular techniques such as coiling or coiling in combination with stenting.
  • Flow diverters for larger or more complex aneurysms.
  • Other new endovascular techniques and surgery.
• Experience. Mayo Clinic is one of the nation's largest treatment and research centers for cerebrovascular diseases.
• Individualized treatment. Mayo Clinic specialists work closely with you to develop an individualized treatment plan to prevent brain hemorrhage. The plan is based on your brain aneurysm's size and location and other aneurysm features. It's also based on the predicted risk of rupture, consideration of any family history of aneurysm rupture, your medical condition, and your preference after consulting with your Mayo Clinic providers.
• Research. Mayo Clinic specialists conduct research in potential causes, risks, diagnostic tests and treatments for brain aneurysms and other brain conditions and conduct clinical trials.

Nationally recognized expertise

Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, Mayo Clinic in Phoenix/Scottsdale, Arizona, and Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida, are ranked among the Best Hospitals for neurology and neurosurgery in the U.S. News & World Report Best Hospitals rankings.

Expertise and rankings

Brain aneurysm expertise and innovation for patient care

Leading international studies

Mayo Clinic specialists and researchers have led many of the largest international studies into brain aneurysm diagnoses and treatment techniques dating back to 1991.

Mayo Clinic served as the coordinating center for the International Study of Unruptured Intracranial Aneurysms (ISUIA). The research, led by Mayo Clinic and sponsored by the National Institutes of Health, helped specialists more reliably determine brain aneurysms needing immediate treatment.

Pipeline embolization expertise

Mayo Clinic experts were early contributors in the development of pipeline embolization approaches, collaborating on both the Pipeline for Uncoilable or Failed Aneurysms (PUFS) study as well as the Aneurysm Study of Pipeline in an Observational Registry (ASPIRE) study, both of which assessed the feasibility, safety and efficacy of flow diverters for the treatment of unruptured brain aneurysms.

Mayo Clinic was one of the first medical institutions to use flow diverters in aneurysm treatment and has contributed significantly to basic research on flow technology.

American Heart Association (AHA) guidelines for care

Mayo Clinic specialists co-chaired the AHA guidelines on caring for subarachnoid hemorrhages and on care for unruptured aneurysms.

Versatility

Once the treatment approach is determined, Mayo Clinic specialists are versatile in all types of treatment.

Certified stroke centers

Mayo Clinic's campus in Florida was the first stroke center in Florida to be certified as a Comprehensive Stroke Center by The Joint Commission, a national organization that evaluates and accredits health care providers. The center is the only one in its region. Mayo Clinic's campus in Rochester was certified as a Comprehensive Stroke Center in 2015. Mayo Clinic's campus in Arizona is certified as a Primary Stroke Center.

Locations, travel and lodging

Mayo Clinic has major campuses in Phoenix and Scottsdale, Arizona; Jacksonville, Florida; and Rochester, Minnesota. The Mayo Clinic Health System has dozens of locations in several states.

For more information on visiting Mayo Clinic, choose your location below:

Costs and insurance

Mayo Clinic works with hundreds of insurance companies and is an in-network provider for millions of people.

In most cases, Mayo Clinic doesn't require a physician referral. Some insurers require referrals or may have additional requirements for certain medical care. All appointments are prioritized on the basis of medical need.

Learn more about appointments at Mayo Clinic.

Please contact your insurance company to verify medical coverage and to obtain any needed authorization prior to your visit. Often, your insurer's customer service number is printed on the back of your insurance card.