Bryan JohnsonFounder of Blueprint and Don't Die

I discovered a life threatening condition that almost killed me…

3 Apr 2025 · 1 min

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In this brief personal testimony, Bryan Johnson explains how a routine full‑body MRI revealed that he suffers from internal jugular vein stenosis—a genetically narrow vein that impedes blood drainage from the brain. The condition caused elevated intracranial pressure, leading to chronic headaches and dizziness that he had experienced for years without a diagnosis. He emphasizes that the condition was not detectable through standard blood work or physical examination, and that he lived 43 years unaware of the serious health risk.

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I discovered a life threatening condition that almost killed me a few years ago. I was getting a routine full body MRI scan and it discovered that I have a condition called internal jugular vein stenosis. We have veins on the side of our neck and one carries blood to the brain and one carries blood out of the brain. My internal jugular vein is genetically narrow, which means that my brain was not able to remove blood. It increased pressure, it gave me headaches and dizziness. I had these symptoms and I didn't know what was going on. Now, this was not discovered with blood work. It was not discovered from a physical exam. In fact, I had lived 43 years of life and no one ever told me that I had this problem.