Game of Thrones star Emilia Clarke has opened up about the two brain aneurysms she suffered while filming the show. The 35-year-old actress previously revealed that she had survived two brain aneurysms in 2011 and 2013. An aneurysm is a bulge in a blood vessel caused by a weakness in the blood vessel wall, usually where it branches.
In an Interview, Sunday Morning on July 17, Clarke said: "The amount of my brain that can no longer be used: it's remarkable that I can speak, sometimes articulately, and live my life completely normally with absolutely no repercussions. "I'm in the very, very, very small minority of people who can survive that." Of her brain scans, Clarke said: “That's a long way to go! Which always makes me laugh.
“Because strokes, basically, as soon as any part of your brain doesn't get blood for a second, it goes away. And so the blood finds a different route to move, but then whatever part is missing, it's gone." After the aneurysms, Clarke suffered from aphasia and at one point was unable to remember her name.
Thankfully, Clarke's long-term memory hasn't been affected, which means she's felt confident performing in the two-and-a-half-hour production of The Seagull at London's Harold Pinter Theatre. In 2019, Clarke launched a charity, SameYou, which aims to raise money for those recovering from brain surgeries and strokes. Clarke played Daenerys Targaryen on Game of Thrones from 2011 to 2019.
An aneurysm refers to a weakening of an artery wall that creates a bulge, or distention, of the artery. Most aneurysms do not show symptoms and are not dangerous. However, at their most severe stage, some can rupture, leading to life-threatening internal bleeding.