2nd annual Walk for Brain Aneurysm Awareness set for Sept. 26

CINCINNATI – The Tri-State Brain Aneurysm Support Group will sponsor its second annual Walk for Brain Aneurysm Awareness in the village of St. Bernard on Saturday, Sept. 26. Registration for the event will begin at 9:30 a.m. at Vine Street Park, whose entrance is at the corner of Vine Street and Washington Avenue.

The walk will begin at 10:30 a.m. and proceed through St. Bernard along routes with intervals designed for the capabilities of participants.

“We’re trying to build awareness about brain aneurysms, because they are so deadly and because recent research has confirmed there tends to be a familial link,” said Roberta Holden, Fundraising Chair of the Tri-State Brain Aneurysm Support Group and a Mayfield Clinic associate.

“Research conducted at the University of Cincinnati (UC) and at partner institutions around the world has also found that smoking and hypertension (untreated high blood pressure) can dramatically increase the chances that an at-risk individual will suffer bleeding in the brain,” Ms. Holden said. “We want more people to be aware of the risks and to ask their doctors if they should be screened for possible brain aneurysms before they rupture.”

According to the National Institutes of Health, the incidence of reported ruptured aneurysm in the brain is about 10 in every 100,000 persons per year (about 30,000 individuals per year in the United States), most commonly in people between ages 30 and 60. An aneurysm bleed can cause permanent neurological consequences, and in some cases death.  As imaging and other technologies have improved, physicians are increasingly able to detect and treat aneurysms before they rupture.

The Tri-State Brain Aneurysm Support Group, a non-profit organization, was founded in 2002, by Mario Zuccarello, MD, a Mayfield Clinic neurosurgeon, and an aneurysm survivor. Dr. Zuccarello, an internationally known neurovascular specialist, is the Frank H. Mayfield Chair for Neurological Surgery at UC.

The support group provides education, encouragement and understanding to survivors and caregivers in southwestern Ohio, Northern Kentucky and southeastern Indiana. In addition to hosting monthly meetings and an annual symposium, the group organizes social events for survivors and caregivers, publishes a newsletter, and maintains social media sites to provide access to information about brain aneurysms and local and national resources.

Cost to register for the Sept. 26 Walk for Brain Aneurysm Awareness is $10. T-shirts will be available for sale on the day of the event. For more information about the walk or sponsorships, contact Roberta Holden at (513)569-5296 or rholden@mayfieldclinic.com.