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Bleeding and Clotting Disorders

Are blood clots and aneurysms the same thing?

07/17/2007

Question:

My daughter`s 19 year old boyfriend was told he had a venous aneurysm. They started treating him with Heparin and 4 days later they are saying it is a blood clot in the large vein in his head. I am wondering if they are the same thing?

Answer:

An aneurysm is a dilated blood vessel that gets distended and can rupture, causing a bleed which can be very serious. This is distinct from a blood clot which is obviously when a blood clot forms in a blood vessel. It may have been an initial imaging study of the brain that suggested one of these two things were possible, but they are distinct and different things. If they were treating him with heparin, it sounds as though they thought he had a blood clot. I hope this helps, but it's difficult to say more without having more information.

For more information:

Go to the Bleeding and Clotting Disorders health topic, where you can:

Response by:

Spero R Cataland, MD Spero R Cataland, MD
Associate Professor of Clinical Internal Medicine
College of Medicine
The Ohio State University