Hemorrhagic Stroke

What Is It?

Hemorrhagic stroke is a term used to refer to the sudden onset of bleeding within the brain. The cause of this brain hemorrhage can vary depending on the underlying pathology that caused the stroke.

Primary hemorrhage can be caused by pathologies that can lead to sudden bleeding. Some examples of these causes are:

Aneurysmal Subarachnoid Hemorrhage: The rupture of a cerebral aneurysm leads to subarachnoid hemorrhage, bleeding around the brain in the subarachnoid space. This typically leads to the sudden onset of headache and/or other neurological symptoms and is one of the most common forms of spontaneous brain hemorrhage.

Hypertensive Hemorrhage: High blood pressure (hypertension) can lead to spontaneous hemorrhage into the brain leading to the sudden onset of neurological symptoms.

Other Sudden Hemorrhage: Other sources of sudden hemorrhage into the brain include arteriovenous malformation, arteriovenous fistulas, cavernous malformation and Moyamoya disease.

Hemorrhagic stroke can also refer to a condition that occurs secondary to an ischemic stroke (cerebral infarction). If the brain and blood vessels are damaged by decreased blood flow to a region of the brain and then blood flow is restored, either due to some treatment or to natural processes within the body, then bleeding into that area of damaged brain can occur. The previously "bland" infarct can then undergo "hemorrhagic transformation", bleeding into the area of infarction. This is often referred to as a hemorrhagic form of stroke.

What Types of Symptoms Are Typical?

The symptoms of sudden brain hemorrhage into or around the brain varies depending on the cause and the location of the bleeding. See the pages for the individual pathologies listed above for more details about their presentation, diagnosis and treatment.

Return to the Cerebrovascular Disease page
from the Hemorrhagic Stroke page.

Return to the Nervous System Diseases home page.

Important Note: This site is not intended to offer medical advice. Every patient is different, and only your personal physician can help to counsel you about what is best for your situation. What we offer is general reference information about various disorders and treatments for your education.

Facebook Twitter