Game of Thrones actress Emilia Clarke has revealed for The New Yorker that she suffered two nearly fatal brain aneurysms and has undergone two brain surgeries since the show started filming. The actress, who plays Daenerys Targaryen, underwent surgery twice, leading to "terrible anxiety" and panic attacks.
A brain or cerebral aneurysm is when the aneurysm occurs in one of the blood vessels, usually an artery, that supplies blood to parts of the brain. A brain aneurysm bursting or rupturing is a major emergency. That is what happened to Clarke in 2011 first time.
The first aneurysm rupture struck while she was at the gym in February 2011, just after filming the first season.
Doctors diagnosed her with having a subarachnoid haemorrhage (SAH), from which a third of sufferers die immediately or soon after.
The second aneurysm, which prompted an invasive surgery that involved opening her skull, came after Clarke finished shooting the third season of the show.
"In my worst moments, I wanted to pull the plug," she said. "I asked the medical staff to let me die."
She says she is now "at a hundred percent" and has helped develop a charity that supports people recovering from brain injuries and strokes.