Hemorrhage stroke

Hemorrhagic stroke is a type of stroke. It makes up about 13 percent of stroke cases. Hemorrhagic stroke is harmful to life and many deaths appear within the first two days. People who have survived from a brain hemorrhage, their recovery is slow. Moreover, a minority of people with hemorrhage stroke are able to recover complete or near-complete functioning within 30 days of the stroke.

What is a hemorrhagic stroke?

Hemorrhagic stroke is caused by a weakened vessel that ruptures and bleeds into the surrounding brain. Consequently, the blood accumulates and compresses the surrounding brain tissue.

How many types of hemorrhagic stroke?

There are two types of hemorrhagic strokes; intracerebral hemorrhage and subarachnoid hemorrhage.

Intracerebral hemorrhage

Intracerebral hemorrhage appears when blood vessels within the brain bursts, leakage the blood in the brain. Sudden increases in pressure within the brain. It can damage cells of the brain that surrounding blood. If the amount of blood increase quickly, the sudden buildup pressure can lead to unconsciousness or death. Selected parts of the brain such as basal ganglia, cerebellum, brain stem, or cortex.

Subarachnoid hemorrhage

Subarachnoid hemorrhage happens when blood vessels outside the brain rupture. The blood fills in the area of the skull that is surrounding the brain or called subarachnoid space. A person who has affected by subarachnoid hemorrhage may have a sudden, tense headache, neck pain, and nausea, or vomiting. Thus, the sudden buildup pressure outside the brain can lead to unconsciousness or death.

What are the symptoms of hemorrhagic stroke?

Hemorrhagic stroke has symptoms depends on each type. Follow symptoms including:

Intracerebral hemorrhage

Practically, symptoms of intracerebral hemorrhage appear when the person is wide-awake. The symptoms can develop gradually and tend to occur without any notice. Symptoms become worsen over a period of thirty to ninety minutes and symptoms including:

Sudden weakness
Paralysis on side of the body
Numbness any parts of the body
Incapability to speak
Incapability to control eyes movement correctly
Vomit
Difficulty to walk
Irregular breathing
Stupor
Coma

Subarachnoid hemorrhage

Suddenly very severe headache feels like thunderclap
Unconsciousness
Nausea and vomiting
Incapability to look bright light
Stiff neck
Dizziness
Seizure

How to diagnose hemorrhagic stroke?

Your physician will be looking for your previous medical problem files and your chance to have a stroke. In order to classify the types of your stroke, he/she might request you to do the following tests:

Computed tomography or CT (this test is the fastest and most effective test for hemorrhagic stroke)
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan
Lumbar puncture or spinal tap (if your physician suspects you have subarachnoid hemorrhage)
Blood samples to check your blood clotting
Electrocardiogram (ECG or EKC)
Chest x-ray
Echocardiogram or Carotid doppler

How to prevent hemorrhagic stroke?

Manage blood pressure (whether you have been diagnosed with hypertension or high blood pressure)
Understand the side effect of other drugs and foods can have on the level of the drug in the bloodstream, if you are taking warfarin
Manage cholesterol level
Avoid excessive alcohol
Avoid using illegal drugs such as cocaine or amphetamine
Stop smoking (it causes the risk of an aneurysm)

How to treat hemorrhagic stroke?

Emergency treatment depends on the types of strokes. If you are diagnosed with hemorrhage stroke, health provider team must work quickly to restore blood flow in your brain by following procedures:

Emergency measurement:
Surgery: your surgeon may perform surgery to remove the blood to relieve pressure on your brain if the bleeding area is large. In that, the surgery also repairs blood issues related to hemorrhagic stroke.
Surgical clipping: your surgeon places a clamp to keep the aneurysm from bursting or recently hemorrhaged from bleeding again
Coiling or endovascular embolization: your surgeon uses a catheter inserted into an artery to your brain.
Surgical arteriovenous malformation (AVM) removal: Your surgeon removes a smaller AVM that is located in a reachable area of your brain to reduce the risk of rupture and decrease the risk of hemorrhagic stroke.
Stereotactic radiosurgery: it is used for an advanced minimally invasive treatment in order to repair blood vessel malformation.

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