Brain aneurysms and flying

[malaise]

I saw a comment by Trof re a passenger dying of this on his aircraft. I know three people who had brain aneurysms and flew to Florida for treatment. Two died within hours of landing and the third died a day later in hospital.

All three were still at work before heading for specialist treatment overseas (yes they did take painkillers for headaches) so I wonder whether the pressure in an aircraft does more harm than good to brain aneurysm victims. Any informed thoughts.

[Mike 03]

1. Kick, just in case. Interested if anyone has an answer. NT

[uppityperson]

2. It depends. I would not fly with any condition like that without medical approval.

Pressure changes can intensify some conditions and having a weak part in a blood vessel doesn't sound like a good thing to be under less air pressure with.

[babylonsister]

3. I know of a woman with such a bad ear infection (her eardrum

exploded en route) she was directed to take a train home, from OK to MA. Stands to reason a brain aneurysm might not be healthy to fly with.

[ferrous wheel]

7. You might think so but they are totally different: the inner ear is 'sealed'

by the eardrum and it needs to have its pressure equalized by the Eustachean tubes which are the only path for air to go in or out - very different from the subdural area which has many passages to allow pressure equalization.

[ddeclue]

4. Actually the plane isn't under "pressure" in the sense that

it has a cabin pressure higher than sea level pressure.

Planes are generally only pressurized to about 10,000 feet MSL equivalent pressure or if less than that some number above ambient pressure but still less than sea level pressure.

I'm not a doctor, I'm an aero engineer and pilot but I don't see how this could be the cause. Perhaps there is an aviation medical examiner (AME) here at DU who knows both worlds?

My suspicion is that these people were very likely to die whether on the plane or not and that it is merely coincidental and not causal.

Doug D.

On edit:

There is THIS possibility... it's not an increase in pressure that is a problem but actually the decrease in pressure. There are sinusitis problems associated with flying and there are also nitrogen narcosis (bends) problems associated with divers flying due to less pressure even in a pressurized plane. Perhaps it is related to outgassing in the person's blood due to decreased pressure like the bends - that is if it is really causal and not merely coincidental.

Doug D.

[malaise]

9. Thanks for your comments

The decrease in pressure possibility is interesting

[ferrous wheel]

5. Aneurysms usually kill the victim anyway. Atmospheric pressure,

whether it's from regular outside air or inside a plane is equalized by the body and has no negative effect. (Think of a person diving in the ocean...it's only a few feet down to two atmospheres (2 x 14.7 psi) and people do it all the time.

[ddeclue]

6. Yeah but what about outgassing in the bloodstream as in the bends?

I initially had your take on it too but then I remembered you aren't supposed to dive AND fly in the same 24 hours. You fly biz-jets and deal in the pressurized world every day - you don't pressurize to sea level do you? My understanding is that it is only to 10,000 ft or if you are lower than that to some pressure above ambient but not necessarily sea level. (14.696 PSIA)

Doug D.

[ferrous wheel]

8. Oh, yes you're exactly right about that! I was assuming the OPs patient

had NOT been diving down to higher than normal (1 atm) pressure. We pressurize at around 5-6 psi and keep SL only up to around 9 or 10 thousand feet (it's adjustable but we keep it around there usually although the setting is done in altitude increments rather than psi)