Hemorrhagic Stroke

Also called: Intracerebral Hemorrhage, Subarachnoid Hemorrhage

Summary

A stroke is a medical emergency. There are two types - ischemic and hemorrhagic. Hemorrhagic stroke is the less common type. It happens when a blood vessel breaks and bleeds into the brain. Within minutes, brain cells begin to die. Causes include a bleeding aneurysm, an arteriovenous malformation (AVM), or an artery wall that breaks open.

Symptoms of stroke are

Sudden numbness or weakness of the face, arm or leg (especially on one side of the body)
Sudden confusion, trouble speaking or understanding speech
Sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes
Sudden trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance or coordination
Sudden severe headache with no known cause

It is important to treat strokes as quickly as possible. With a hemorrhagic stroke, the first steps are to find the cause of bleeding in the brain and then control it. Surgery may be needed. Post-stroke rehabilitation can help people overcome disabilities caused by stroke damage.

National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke

Resources

Hemorrhagic Stroke Treatment (Beyond the Basics) (UpToDate)
Intracerebral Hemorrhage (Washington University, School of Medicine)
Let's Talk about Hemorrhagic Stroke (American Heart Association) Also in Spanish
Subarachnoid Hemorrhage (Washington University, School of Medicine)
Subarachnoid hemorrhage (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish

Genetics

Genetics Home Reference: COL4A1-related brain small-vessel disease (National Library of Medicine)
Genetics Home Reference: familial porencephaly (National Library of Medicine)
Genetics Home Reference: hereditary cerebral amyloid angiopathy (National Library of Medicine)

Clinical Trials

ClinicalTrials.gov: Intracranial Hemorrhages (National Institutes of Health)
ClinicalTrials.gov: Subarachnoid Hemorrhage (National Institutes of Health)

Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

Patient Handouts

Preventing stroke (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
Stroke - discharge (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish

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MEDICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA

Cerebral amyloid angiopathy

National Institutes of Health

The primary NIH organization for research on Hemorrhagic Stroke is the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke

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