Subarachnoid Haemorrhage

What is a Subarachnoid Haemorrhage?

At least one in 100 people go about their daily routine unaware that they have potentially deadly flaws in the blood vessels of their brain. These defects, known as berry aneurysms, are like tiny balloons where the wall of the artery has thinned and weakened. Berry aneurysms may burst if put under extra stress. The end result is a brain haemorrhage or stroke.

The haemorrhage occurs when a berry aneurysm bursts, which is known as a subarachnoid haemorrhage because the layer around the brain in which the bleeding occurs.

What causes a Subarachnoid Haemorrhage?

Fortunately, not every berry aneurysm ruptures - only about one in 7,000 people have a subarachnoid haemorrhage; not every brain haemorrhage is due to a berry aneurysm. Although about 70 per cent of subarachnoid haemorrhages are caused this way. Also, not every stroke is due to a haemorrhage - the majority are caused by blockages of the blood supply by a clot or atherosclerosis. Other possible explanations are due to a traumatic head injury or high blood pressure.

Who is affected?

The great tragedy of subarachnoid haemorrhage is that it frequently occurs in young adults. Of course, a stroke at any age is a tragedy, but a Subarachnoid haemorrhage is a particular disaster because it is often fatal - as many as 30 per cent die within hours, and a further 30 per cent die within the first month - or results in serious disability in people who have young dependents.

There is a slight tendency for the problem to run in families - if you're a blood relation of someone who is had a subarachnoid haemorrhage, you have a 14 per cent chance of having one, too. If you have two or more relatives affected, some experts recommend you have special screening tests of the blood vessels in your brain.

Women are more commonly affected than men, and people of African origin are also at increased risk, possibly because they are more likely to have high blood pressure.

Smoking and excessive alcohol intake are also linked to an increased risk that a berry aneurysm will rupture.

What are the symptoms?

There is often little or no warning that a subarachnoid haemorrhage is about to occur. Typically, the person collapses with a sudden headache unlike any they have experienced before. They may vomit, develop symptoms such as neck stiffness and dislike of light, and may rapidly become drowsy, confused and unconscious.

In milder cases, the illness may appear like migraine or meningitis due to an infection, but in severe cases it is quickly apparent that something is seriously wrong.

What's the treatment for a Subarachnoid Haemorrhage?

A number of situations can cause bleeding to the brain from a head injury to high blood pressure but it is the timeliness of the diagnosis and receiving of treatment that is most important. Someone suffering from a Subarachnoid Haemorrhage will often complain of a severe headache, located towards the back of the head. Often they will feel sick and sometimes they will collapse and lose consciousness. When a patient attends their GP surgery or hospital with these symptoms urgent assessment is required. Once the bleeding has been identified the patient should be referred to see a neurosurgeon without delay so a CT scan can be performed of the brain and treatment can be started and urgent surgery considered. Any delay in diagnosis or treatment can have serious, and sometimes even life threatening, consequences.

Those who survive the initial episode are at great risk of another bleed unless action is taken. The standard treatment used to be surgery, which involves opening the skull and clipping off the faulty blood vessel. This operation, known as clipping, is usually done within days, but in severe cases and the elderly it may be delayed for a few weeks. However, although the operation puts an end to the risk, it carries a risk of damage (although this risk is far less than that of a second bleed.)

In recent years, a new technique has been developed as an alternative to clipping. In this technique, known as endovascular detachable-coil treatment or coiling, a detachable plantinum coil device is inserted into the blood vessels via a small cut in the skin (usually in the groin) and passed up into the brain under x-ray guidance to block off the faulty vessel.

Recovery from any type of stroke tends to be slow. Intensive rehabilitation therapy, including physiotherapy, speech therapy and occupational therapy, are usually needed. Depression is a common problem after stroke, and good psychological and drug treatments are essential to help recovery.

Any case involving injury to the brain is always serious and the correct medical treatment is crucial. subarachnoid haemorrhage is the clinical term for bleeding to the brain caused when blood vessels tear. A number of situations can cause bleeding to the brain from a head injury to high blood pressure but it is the timeliness of the diagnosis and receiving of treatment that is most important. Someone suffering from a subarachnoid haemorrhage will often complain of a severe headache, located towards the back of the head. Often they will feel sick and sometimes they will collapse and lose consciousness. When a patient attends their GP surgery or hospital with these symptoms urgent assessment is required. Once the bleeding has been identified the patient should be referred to see a neurosurgeon without delay so treatment can be started and urgent surgery considered. Any delay in diagnosis or treatment can have serious, and sometimes even life threatening, consequences.

At Head Injury UK our solicitors have specialist knowledge of subarachnoid haemorrhage and will understand this severe medical condition and the consequences of it. If you or a member of your family have suffered a subarachnoid haemorrhage and believe there was a delay in the condition being investigated, diagnosed or treated you may have a claim for medical negligence and you should contact a specialist solicitor for advice.