Brain hemorrhage

Jai Ganesh · 2025-04-05 22:15:12

Brain hemorrhage

Gist

A brain hemorrhage, also known as a brain bleed or intracranial hemorrhage, is a type of stroke caused by bleeding within the brain, typically due to a ruptured blood vessel, and can be life-threatening, requiring immediate medical attention.

The most common causes of a brain hemorrhage are: Head trauma - Injuries to the head are the most common reason for a brain hemorrhage to occur in people younger than 50 years old. High blood pressure - High blood pressure, if left untreated, can weaken the blood vessel walls and lead to a brain hemorrhage.

When a brain hemorrhage occurs, it cuts off oxygen to the brain and leaks blood into the area between the skull and your brain. The bleeding accumulates in puddles within your skull and causes pressure, which prevents oxygen from reaching brain tissues.

While brain hemorrhage is a serious condition, recovery is possible, but the extent and timeline vary greatly depending on the severity and location of the bleeding, and prompt treatment is crucial to improve chances of survival and recovery.

To reduce your risk of a brain hemorrhage (also known as a hemorrhagic stroke), focus on controlling high blood pressure, managing other health conditions, adopting a healthy lifestyle, and taking precautions to avoid head injuries.

Summary

What Is a Brain Hemorrhage?

A brain hemorrhage is a type of stroke. It happens when a weakened blood vessel in your brain starts to leak or suddenly bursts. As a result, your brain cells can't get enough oxygen and nutrients. That can severely damage them.

Brain hemorrhages are also called cerebral hemorrhages, intracranial hemorrhages, intracerebral hemorrhages, hemorrhagic strokes, or brain bleeds. They account for about 13% of all strokes.

Since brain hemorrhages can be disabling or life-threatening, it’s crucial to get medical help fast if you think you or someone else is having one.

What Happens During a Brain Hemorrhage?

Your brain isn't a muscle. It's a complex organ that contains a finely tuned network of both nerves and blood vessels. But sometimes, one or more of these blood vessels can become weak from damage or even burst.

Once blood begins leaking out of a vessel, it can irritate the surrounding brain tissue and cause swelling. This is known as cerebral edema. The pooled blood collects into a mass called a hematoma. Your skull does a good job of protecting your brain by keeping it tightly contained. There's not a lot of space between your brain and skull. But that means conditions like these can quickly increase pressure on your brain, which reduces vital blood flow and can damage brain cells.

What Is a Brain Hemorrhage?

A brain hemorrhage is a type of stroke. It happens when a weakened blood vessel in your brain starts to leak or suddenly bursts. As a result, your brain cells can't get enough oxygen and nutrients. That can severely damage them.

Brain hemorrhages are also called cerebral hemorrhages, intracranial hemorrhages, intracerebral hemorrhages, hemorrhagic strokes, or brain bleeds. They account for about 13% of all strokes.

Since brain hemorrhages can be disabling or life-threatening, it’s crucial to get medical help fast if you think you or someone else is having one.

What Happens During a Brain Hemorrhage?

Your brain isn't a muscle. It's a complex organ that contains a finely tuned network of both nerves and blood vessels. But sometimes, one or more of these blood vessels can become weak from damage or even burst.

Once blood begins leaking out of a vessel, it can irritate the surrounding brain tissue and cause swelling. This is known as cerebral edema. The pooled blood collects into a mass called a hematoma. Your skull does a good job of protecting your brain by keeping it tightly contained. There's not a lot of space between your brain and skull. But that means conditions like these can quickly increase pressure on your brain, which reduces vital blood flow and can damage brain cells.

Bleeding can occur inside your brain, between your brain and the membranes that cover it, between the layers of your brain's covering, or between your skull and the covering of the brain.

What Are the Types of Brain Bleeds?

Brain hemorrhages can happen inside the tissue of your brain or outside it.

Bleeding can occur inside your brain, between your brain and the membranes that cover it, between the layers of your brain's covering, or between your skull and the covering of the brain.

What Are the Types of Brain Bleeds?

Brain hemorrhages can happen inside the tissue of your brain or outside it.

When they happen outside the brain tissue, they involve one or more of the protective layers (membranes) that cover your brain:

* Epidural bleed. This is when blood collects between your skull and the thick outer layer, called the dura mater. Without treatment, it can make your blood pressure rise, make it hard to breathe, cause brain damage, or lead to death.

An epidural bleed usually happens because of an injury (often involving a skull fracture) that tears an underlying blood vessel.

* Subdural bleed. If blood leaks between your dura mater and the thin layer beneath it, called the arachnoid mater, you have this type of brain hemorrhage. There are three main kinds of subdural bleeds:

** Acute: This type develops quickly and is linked to a death rate that ranges from about 37% to 90%. People who survive an acute subdural bleed often have permanent brain damage. This type of brain hemorrhage can happen after a hit to the head from a fall, car crash, sports accident, whiplash, or other type of head trauma.
** Subacute: Sometimes after a head injury, the bleeding doesn't start right away. It could take days or even weeks. This slow brain bleed often happens with concussions.
** Chronic: This kind of subdural bleed happens slowly, so fast treatment can lead to a better recovery. It’s usually caused by a less-serious head injury in someone who’s 65 or older, takes blood thinners, or has changes in their brain structure due to dementia or an alcohol use disorder.

* Subarachnoid bleed. This is when blood collects below the arachnoid mater and above the delicate inner layer beneath it, the pia mater. Without treatment, it can lead to permanent brain damage and death.

A bleed like this usually happens because of a head trauma, like hitting your head in a car accident. But sometimes it can be due to a brain aneurysm, a bulge in one of your brain vessels. And another issue with your blood vessels or a separate health condition can also cause it. The main warning sign for this type of bleed is a sudden, severe headache.

* Intracerebral hemorrhage. With this type of brain hemorrhage, blood pools in the tissue of your brain. It’s the second most common cause of stroke, and recovering from it can be challenging. It’s usually due to long-term, untreated high blood pressure.

* Intraventricular hemorrhage. In this case, bleeding happens within the ventricles of your brain -- the little chambers that typically contain cerebral spinal fluid. That may damage your nerve cells and lead to lasting brain injury. Intraventricular hemorrhage is more common in premature babies or babies who are born with very low birthweights (under 3 1/2 pounds).

Brain hemorrhage vs. intracranial hematoma

A brain hemorrhage refers to bleeding inside your brain or in between your brain and your skull. The blood that collects as a result is called an intracranialhematoma. It can require surgery right away to remove the extra blood and relieve the pressure that it's putting on your brain.

Details

A brain bleed (intracranial hemorrhage) is a type of stroke. It causes blood to pool between your brain and skull. It prevents oxygen from reaching your brain. It’s life-threatening and requires quick treatment for the best outcome.

What is a brain bleed?

A brain bleed (intracranial hemorrhage) is a type of stroke that causes bleeding in your head.

As your brain can’t store oxygen, it relies on a series of blood vessels to supply its oxygen and nutrients. When a brain bleed occurs, a blood vessel leaks blood or bursts. Blood collects or pools within your skull and brain. This causes pressure against your brain, which prevents oxygen and nutrients from reaching your brain tissues and cells.

Brain bleeds are common after falls or traumatic injuries. They’re also common in people with unmanaged high blood pressure.

A brain bleed is a life-threatening medical emergency. It only takes three to four minutes for your brain cells to die if they don’t receive enough oxygen. Treating a brain bleed quickly leads to the best outcome.

What are the types of brain bleeds?
There are many parts to your brain, so the term “brain bleed” (intracranial hemorrhage) is very broad to healthcare providers. Types of brain bleeds help your healthcare provider identify specifically where the bleeding occurs.

There are two main areas of bleeding:

* Within your skull but outside of brain tissue.
* Inside brain tissue.

To better understand where each type of brain bleed occurs, it helps to know the components within your skull. The brain has three membrane layers (meninges) between the bony skull and brain tissue. The three membranes are the dura mater, arachnoid and pia mater. The purpose of the meninges is to cover and protect your brain. Bleeding can occur anywhere between these three membranes.

Types of brain bleeds within your skull but outside of brain tissue include:

* Epidural bleed: This bleed happens between the skull bone and the outermost membrane layer, the dura mater.
* Subdural bleed: This bleed happens between the dura mater and the arachnoid membrane.
* Subarachnoid bleed: This bleed happens between the arachnoid membrane and the pia mater.

There are two types of brain bleeds that occur inside the brain tissue itself:

* Intracerebral hemorrhage: This bleeding occurs in the lobes, brainstem and cerebellum of your brain. This is bleeding anywhere within the brain tissue itself.
* Intraventricular hemorrhage: This bleeding occurs in your brain’s ventricles, which are specific areas of the brain (cavities) where your body makes cerebrospinal fluid (fluid that protects your brain and spinal cord).

Are brain bleeds fatal?

Brain bleeds can be life-threatening and cause permanent brain damage. The severity and outcome of a brain bleed depend on its cause, location inside of your skull, size of the bleed, the amount of time that passes between the bleed and treatment. Once brain cells die, they don’t come back. Damage can be severe and result in physical, mental and task-based disability.

How common is a brain bleed?

Brain bleeds are a type of stroke. More than 795,000 people in the United States experience a stroke each year.

Symptoms and Causes:

What are the symptoms of a brain bleed?

Symptoms of a brain bleed vary based on the type, but could include:

* Sudden tingling, weakness, numbness or paralysis of your face, arm or leg, particularly on one side of your body.
* Sudden, severe headache.
* Nausea and vomiting.
* Confusion.
* Dizziness.
* Slurred speech.
* Lack of energy, sleepiness.

In addition, you may experience:

* Difficulty swallowing.
* Vision loss.
* Stiff neck.
* Sensitivity to light.
* Loss of balance or coordination.
* Trouble breathing and abnormal heart rate.
* Seizures.
* Loss of consciousness and coma.

What is the first symptom of a brain bleed?

Most people who experience a brain bleed note that the first symptom is a sudden, painful headache.

What causes a brain bleed?

A leaky, broken or burst blood vessel causes a brain bleed. As a result, excess blood pools in your brain. A brain bleed can happen after:

* Head trauma (a fall, car accident, sports injury, etc.).
* A buildup of fatty deposits in your arteries (atherosclerosis).
* A blood clot.
* A weak spot in a blood vessel wall (cerebral aneurysm).
* A leak from abnormally formed connections between arteries and veins (arteriovenous malformation, or AVM).
* A buildup of protein within the artery walls of the brain (cerebral amyloid angiopathy).
* A brain tumor.

What are the risk factors for a brain bleed?

A brain bleed can affect anyone at any age, from newborns to adults. It’s more common among adults over age 65. You may be more at risk of a brain bleed if you experience the following:

* High blood pressure (hypertension).
* Substance use disorder.
* Tobacco use.
* Bleeding conditions or conditions that need treatment with blood thinners (anticoagulants).
* Pregnancy and childbirth-related conditions (eclampsia, postpartum vasculopathy or neonatal intraventricular hemorrhage).
* Conditions that affect how your blood vessel walls form.

What are the complications of a brain bleed?

If not treated quickly, a brain bleed can lead to permanent brain damage or death. A lack of oxygen to your brain can destroy your brain cells and prevent them from communicating with other parts of your body. This affects how your body functions overall, so you may experience:

* Memory loss.
* Difficulty with swallowing, speech and communication.
* Coordination and movement challenges.
* Inability to move part of your body (paralysis).
* Numbness or weakness in part of your body.
* Vision loss.
* Personality changes and/or emotional changes.

Additional Information

Intracranial hemorrhage (ICH), also known as intracranial bleed, is bleeding within the skull. Subtypes are intracerebral bleeds (intraventricular bleeds and intraparenchymal bleeds), subarachnoid bleeds, epidural bleeds, and subdural bleeds.

Intracerebral bleeding affects 2.5 per 10,000 people each year.

Signs and symptoms

Intracranial hemorrhage is a serious medical emergency because the buildup of blood within the skull can lead to increases in intracranial pressure, which can crush delicate brain tissue or limit its blood supply. Severe increases in intracranial pressure (ICP) can cause brain herniation, in which parts of the brain are squeezed past structures in the skull.

Symptoms include severe headache, nausea/vomiting, seizures, dizziness or lightheadedness or vertigo, one-sided facial drooping, one-sided numbness, weakness, tingling, or paralysis, speech problems, blindness, deafness, memory issues, attention problems, balance problems, coordination problems and decreasing level of consciousness or complete loss of consciousness. Coma and persistent vegetative state can result from intracranial hemorrhage.

Brain stem hemorrhage may cause additional symptoms such as shortness of breath, dysphagia (difficulty swallowing), chewing problems, abnormal heart rate, and irregular heartbeat. Brain stem hemorrhage can cause cardiac arrest.

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#1 2025-04-05 22:15:12

Brain hemorrhage

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