Definition

• The term brain hemorrhage may refer to any of a number of conditions that cause localized bleeding either on the surface of, or in the interior of, the brain. Bleeding can occur as a result of disease, injury, genetic defect or any number of different factors, but brain tissue is extremely sensitive to bleeding and irreparable damage can occur very quickly.
  
  

Causes

• Bleeding occurs when a blood vessel bursts inside the brain because of injury or disease. The bleeding causes irritation to the brain tissue, which, in turn, causes swelling. The swelling causes intercranial pressure to develop, and since the brain is encased within the solid structure of the skull, it has no room to expand to accommodate the swelling.
  
  

Symptoms

• The symptoms of a brain hemorrhage can vary significantly depending on the location of the bleeding, the amount of blood being lost and the extent to which surrounding brain tissue is affected. Symptoms can develop suddenly, often with no advance warning, and occur most frequently, but not always, during times of physical activity. Symptoms may grow continually worse from the onset, may be episodic in nature, or may be masked for some time before manifesting themselves. Symptoms to watch for include lethargy, loss of coordination or balance, slurring of speech, difficulty in understanding, numbness or tingling in the extremities, irregular breathing or loss of part or all of vision.
  
  

Diagnosis

• If a person suffers any of the foregoing symptoms shortly after an injury, such as a fall or a blow to the head, a brain hemorrhage may be occurring. Immediate medical diagnosis and treatment can help prevent further injury and damage. In the absence of an obvious cause of injury, the determination is more difficult to make. Strokes and aneurysms can strike without warning, even to seemingly healthy and vigorous individuals. Arteriovenous malformations, a congenital condition involving an entanglement of blood vessels within the brain, can lie dormant for years before beginning to bleed.
  
  

Caution

• An individual in the throes of a hemorrhagic episode in the brain may not be able to articulate his symptoms or adequately express the nature of his distress to those around him. For this reason, if there is any doubt about the cause of the symptoms, it is best to seek immediate medical help. Brain hemorrhage can occur suddenly, escalate rapidly into a life-threatening condition and nearly always be very slow to heal. The more quickly the patient is diagnosed and treated, the better the prognosis.