Hemorrhagic Stroke

Synonyms

Brain hemorrhage; Cerebral hemorrhage

Definition

A hemorrhagic stroke results from extravasation of blood from blood vessels into the brain. This occurs when the vessel walls are weak, as occurs with sudden acute episodes of extreme high blood pressure or in the presence of cerebral arteriovenous malformations or aneurysms. There are two main types of hemorrhagic strokes: intracerebral hemorrhage causing bleeding into to the brain tissue itself and accounting for 10–15% of all strokes, and subarachnoid hemorrhage causing bleeding between the protective layers that surround the brain and accounting for about 5% of all strokes.

Intracerebral hemorrhages are most commonly caused by high blood pressure, but other causes exist as well, such as cocaine and amphetamine use, cerebral amyloid angiopathy, cerebral vasculitis, and bleeding disorders. Symptoms typically have an abrupt onset, consisting of severe headache, usually while awake, nausea and emesis, weakness or paralysis,...