A brain hemorrhage is also referred to as cerebral hemorrhage; wherein cerebral means ‘brain’. Brain hemorrhage is a potentially life threatening condition. It occurs due to weakened or ruptured blood vessels that causes the blood to leak out of the blood vessels. A cerebral hemorrhage is an intra-axial hemorrhage; this means that the hemorrhage or the bleeding occurs inside the brain tissue and not outside it.
A brain hemorrhage is never accompanied by any symptoms. It gives no warning that a hemorrhage is about to happen. Three criteria are used to categorize cerebral hemorrhages – these are the location, kind of the vessel involved and the origin. Location refers whether it is the subarachnoid, extradural, or the subdural region; kind of vessel – whether the arteries, veins or the capillaries effected and origin refers whether it is traumatic or degenerative.
Spontaneous brain hemorrhages are not caused by injuries or accidents; but are caused by sudden rupturing of the weakened blood vessels that causes blood to ooze out within or around the brain. One must understand that bleeding cannot occur on the boundaries of the skull and therefore, any bleeding can cause serious harm to the brain tissue by increasing the pressure within the skull and this hampers the normal blood supply to the brain.
When bleeding occurs in the interior part of the brain (known as intracerebral hemorrhage) it causes sudden loss of neurological function; this condition is known as hemorrhagic stroke or 'cerebrovascular accident'. After this series of conditions the person then collapses.
When the bleeding occurs on the surface part of the brain then such kind of hemorrhage is known as subarachnoid hemorrhage. Such a hemorrhage leads to sudden severe headache, accompanied with vomiting, intolerance to bright lights. Under such situations the individual can even collapse and enter into comatose stage.
Various causes have been outlined for the occurrence of brain hemorrhages. These can be hypertension, congenital aneurysm, cerebro vascular thrombosis and head trauma. Depending on the level of the hemorrhage and location of the ruptured blood vessels, the effects may include weakening of mental functions, hemiplegia, or poor functioning of a special sense.
A computed tomography scan needs to carried out in order to locate the lesion. In addition to this other diagnostic measures need to be done for determination of the line of treatment. In order to treat brain hemorrhage surgery needs to be done followed by proper medications. The surgery involves opening the skull and clipping off the faulty blood vessel. Now an alternative technique has been devised, wherein, a removable device made up of platinum is inserted into the blood vessels via a small incision into the skin (usually in the groin) and passed into the brain to block off the faulty vessel.
