What is a Brain Hemorrhage?
The general definition of cerebral hemorrhage is bleeding that occurs in the tissues within the skull. These include the brain surface, brain tissue and brain cavities. Cerebral hemorrhage, which affects around 1 million people worldwide every year, can cause serious disability and even death.
Types of Brain Hemorrhage
Brain hemorrhages are divided into different types depending on the area of the brain or the cause. The types according to the location of bleeding are as follows:
- Intracerebral hemorrhage is bleeding in the brain tissue.
- Bleeding in the water-filled spaces between the brain and the skull, called ventricles, is called intraventricular bleeding.
- Bleeding in the outer membrane surrounding the brain and cerebellum is called epidural bleeding. Bleeding following skull trauma is usually epidural.
- Subdural hemorrhage is bleeding that occurs between the layers of membrane surrounding the brain. Subdural cerebral hemorrhages are usually caused by blood disorders and low intracranial pressure, but in some cases they can occur without a cause.
- Bleeding between the innermost layer of the membranes around the brain and the layer there is called subarachnoid hemorrhage.
Brain hemorrhages are also diversified depending on the cause. Accordingly, cerebral hemorrhages are divided into the following sub-headings:
- Traumatic hemorrhage is one of the complications that occur after a severe or moderate head injury. Their occurrence after minor head injuries is rare. Traumatic hemorrhages, which are more common in men and children, can be seen as traumatic intracranial hematoma, subdural hematoma, subarachnoid hemorrhage.
- Brain hemorrhages caused by high blood pressure are called hypertensive hemorrhages. Causes of hypertensive bleeding, which usually occurs in middle age, include long-term high blood pressure, kidney failure, diabetes, smoking and alcohol use. Depending on the location, these sudden hemorrhages can cause weakness on one side of the body, headaches, speech disorders, wheezing, seizures and coma.
- Another type of brain hemorrhage is aneurysm bleeding. It can be defined as swelling and ballooning of one of the vessels in the brain. This swelling of the blood vessels can cause the vessels to rupture and cause cerebral hemorrhage. Depending on the severity of the bleeding, the damage caused by aneurysm bleeding varies.
Symptoms of Brain Hemorrhage
The symptoms of a brain hemorrhage differ for each patient. The symptoms are directly related to the location of the bleeding and the amount of tissue affected. Symptoms of brain haemorrhages can develop over time or appear suddenly. Symptoms can also worsen gradually.
- Disorders of brain function in the area where the bleeding occurred,
- Epileptic seizures
- Dizziness
- Vomiting
- Nausea
- Severe headache,
- Mild confusion,
- Dizziness,
- Koma,
- Severe headache,
- Loss of consciousness
- Lethargy
- Powerlessness
- Not understanding what is being said,
- Sleepiness
- Remain unresponsive to events and sounds in the environment,
- Impaired speech,
- Loss of balance,
- Sudden dizziness,
- Coordination impairment,
- Numbness and tingling on one side of the body,
- Difficulty swallowing.
- Taste disturbance.
- Vision problems,
- Involuntary movement of the eyes,
- Eyelid drooping,
- Do not have difficulty raising the arms or holding them in the air,
- Numbness and tingling sensation in the legs,
- Unilateral facial paralysis,
Causes of Brain Hemorrhage
There are many factors that cause brain hemorrhage. Some factors increase the risk of cerebral hemorrhage. Common causes that cause or increase the risk of brain hemorrhage are.
High blood pressure
High blood pressure, which is the most common cause of cerebral hemorrhage, causes cerebral hemorrhage by thinning the brain vessels over time.
Aneurysm
An aneurysm, which is defined as the swelling of the weak areas of the brain vessels due to pressure and forming a bubble, causes cerebral hemorrhage when it bursts. Aneurysms can cause symptoms such as visual defects and droopy eyelids as they press on the surrounding tissues before they burst.
Head traumas
Brain hemorrhages are common after traumas such as falls from a height or traffic accidents.
Blood vessel anomalies
In some people, it is a weakness and misconnection of blood vessels in and around the brain. This condition is usually congenital.
Amyloid angiopathy
It is defined as an anomaly of the walls of blood vessels that occurs with high blood pressure and aging. Amyloid angiopathy, which causes very small bleeding before causing major bleeding, is not recognized at this stage.
Bleeding disorders
Some clotting disorders prevent micro-hemorrhages in the brain from stopping on their own and cause larger hemorrhages.
Brain tumors
Tumors that form anywhere in the brain are also one of the factors that cause cerebral hemorrhages.
Brain Hemorrhage Diagnosis Methods
The diagnosis of brain hemorrhages is especially helped by brain tomography. Tomography is the best and fastest way to determine the location and severity of bleeding. In addition, CT scans explain which of the symptoms detected during the examination are caused by a brain hemorrhage. Finally, the type of bleeding is determined by brain tomography.
In order to find out the underlying causes of cerebral hemorrhage detected by brain tomography, tests such as MRI, computerized angiography, MR angiography are also applied.
Brain Hemorrhage Treatment Methods
Because of the high risk of death as a result of brain hemorrhages, it is one of the situations that require urgent intervention. In addition, cerebral hemorrhages can lead to loss of vision, speech and movement, which requires urgent intervention.
The treatment of brain hemorrhages varies depending on the size and type of bleeding and the general health of the patient. For this reason, some patients only need follow-up, while others can be treated with angiographic methods. In addition to these, surgical treatments are also one of the most frequently used treatment methods for brain hemorrhages. After a brain haemorrhage, medications are also used as part of the treatment to relieve swelling in the brain.
Recovery process
The recovery period after a brain hemorrhage depends on the extent of the bleeding. Small hemorrhages can heal without leaving any damage, but large hemorrhages can leave damage such as speech, breathing disorders, coma and weakness.
Patients who have suffered damage after brain hemorrhages need help with their recovery. Depending on the area of brain damage, patients should receive the necessary physical therapy and rehabilitation treatment. In addition, the social support provided to patients is a very important part of the treatment.
After a brain hemorrhage
Patients who have a cerebral hemorrhage are more likely to have a cerebral hemorrhage later. For this reason, depending on the cause of cerebral hemorrhage, it is important for patients to pay attention to this cause afterwards.
