Common Warning Signs Of A Hemorrhagic Stroke
A hemorrhagic stroke is a serious medical event where an artery in an individual's brain begins to bleed. The surrounding brain tissues are inundated with blood when a weak blood vessel in the brain bursts open, causing damage to the brain cells, rendering some tissues in the brain unable to function. An intracerebral hemorrhage causes this stroke when the bleed is in the actual brain tissue. A subarachnoid hemorrhage causes one of these strokes when the bleed is in the space between the brain and the protective membranes that surround it. This type of stroke is most common in individuals who have bleeding disorders, hypertension, cerebral aneurysm, cavernous cerebral malfunctions, and arteriovenous malfunctions.
Hemorrhagic stroke treatment requires emergency care to stop the bleeding in the patient's brain. Some patients take blood pressure medication for a hemorrhagic stroke. Many patients will need medication to counteract blood thinners as well. Other treatments for hemorrhagic strokes include rest, intravenous fluids, and supportive care, including speech therapy. Surgery for hemorrhagic stroke can be required. However, the best treatment starts with understanding the symptoms and catching the condition.
Loss Of Consciousness
An individual having a hemorrhagic stroke may experience loss of consciousness. Loss of consciousness refers to a medical event where an individual suddenly loses the ability to respond to stimuli and looks to be asleep. Most often, loss of consciousness is caused by acute changes in the affected individual's body. Loss of consciousness occurs in patients whose hemorrhagic stroke is due to increased intracranial pressure resulting from an intracerebral hemorrhage. When an individual has a hemorrhage that displaces blood in the brain, the accommodation limitations of the skull can cause the brain tissues to become compressed.
The tissues that make up an individual's brain stem are often affected by increased intracranial pressure. The brain stem contains an individual's reticular activating system, which controls the arousal and sleep states of consciousness. This system malfunctions when its tissues become pressurized and may result in the affected individual losing consciousness. Loss of consciousness is one of the most severe symptoms of a hemorrhagic stroke.
Sudden And Severe Headache
An individual who is having a hemorrhagic stroke may present with a sudden and severe headache. A headache caused by a hemorrhagic stroke often has a focal point that can help distinguish what part of the brain is experiencing the stroke. When an individual has a hemorrhagic stroke in their carotid artery, they may get a sudden and severe headache in their forehead. The patient may have a sudden and severe headache in the back of their head when a hemorrhagic stroke occurs in the vertebrobasilar system that provides blood to the backside of the brain.
There are no pain reporting nerves contained within the tissues of the brain itself, though the protective membranes around the brain, also known as the meninges, do have a high concentration of sensory nerves. When blood escapes from the vessels during a hemorrhagic stroke, it can be highly irritating to the tissues of the meninges. This irritation causes the affected individual to experience the rapid onset of an extremely painful headache.
