brain, spinal cord, and nerve disorders
Intracerebral Hemorrhage
Introduction
An intracerebral hemorrhage is bleeding within the brain. Intracerebral hemorrhage usually results from chronic high blood pressure. The first symptom is often a severe headache. Diagnosis is based mainly on results of imaging tests. Treatment may include managing problems that may contribute to bleeding (such as lowering blood pressure if it is very high) and, rarely, surgically removing the accumulated blood. (See also Overview of Stroke and Intracerebral hemorrhage accounts for about 10% of all strokes but for a much higher percentage of deaths due to stroke. Among people older than 60, intracerebral hemorrhage is more common than Subarachnoid Hemorrhage (SAH) (bleeding around, rather than within, the brain). When blood vessels of the brain are weak, abnormal, or under unusual pressure, a hemorrhagic stroke can occur. In hemorrhagic strokes, bleeding may occur within the brain, as an intracerebral hemorrhage. Or bleeding may occur between the inner and middle layer of tissue covering the brain (in the subarachnoid space), as a subarachnoid hemorrhage. 