A US woman from Florida who went to hospital for recurring hives discovered she had a potentially fatal brain aneurysm that could rupture at any moment.
Martha Hernandez, 39, developed a rash that spread from her thighs to her chest and face in 2025. The outbreaks kept returning and were accompanied by headaches and dangerously high blood pressure, prompting her to seek emergency treatment at Baptist Health Baptist Hospital in Miami.
Doctors discovered the brain aneurysm by chance, a finding Hernandez said could have saved her life.
“If it wasn’t for having the hives, I would never have known I had an aneurysm that could rupture at any minute,” she said.
Further tests showed that the aneurysm was larger and more complicated than initially believed. Doctors advised her to remain in hospital for emergency surgery the following morning.
Hernandez, a wife and mother who helps run her family’s retail and carpentry business, said she was shocked by the diagnosis.
“I felt that my life was coming to an end,” she recalled, adding that she was stunned to learn she had the condition before turning 40.
She agreed to the recommended treatment, and doctors performed a minimally invasive procedure using coils and a stent to seal off the aneurysm and support the affected blood vessel.
When she woke up after the procedure, her mother was beside her and reassured her that the operation was over.
“I actually thought that I was going into the procedure,” Hernandez said. “She clarified to me, ‘No, it’s done. You’re good.’”
