neurologic disorders
Intracerebral Hemorrhage
Symptoms and Signs of Intracerebral Hemorrhage
Symptoms of intracerebral hemorrhage typically begin with sudden headache, often during activity. However, headache may be mild or absent in older people. Loss of consciousness is common, often within seconds or a few minutes. Nausea, vomiting, delirium, and focal or generalized seizures are also common. Neurologic deficits are usually sudden and progressive. Large hemorrhages, when located in the hemispheres, cause hemiparesis; when located in the posterior fossa, they cause cerebellar or brain stem deficits (eg, conjugate eye deviation or ophthalmoplegia, stertorous breathing, pinpoint pupils, coma). Large hemorrhages are fatal within a few days in about half of patients. In survivors, consciousness returns and neurologic deficits gradually diminish to various degrees as the extravasated blood is resorbed. Some patients have surprisingly few neurologic deficits because hemorrhage is less destructive to brain tissue than infarction. Small hemorrhages may cause focal deficits without impairment of consciousness and with minimal or no headache and nausea. Small hemorrhages may mimic Ischemic Stroke . 