Hemorrhagic Stroke

If you believe your child is currently showing signs of having a stroke it is important to visit an Emergency Room or call 911 immediately.

What is a Hemorrhagic Stroke?

Hemorrhagic strokes occur when a blood vessel that supplies blood to the brain ruptures and bleeds. When an artery bleeds into the brain, brain cells and tissues downstream may not receive oxygen and nutrients. In addition, the bleeding causes pressure to build up in surrounding tissues and irritation and swelling to occur. The effects of a hemorrhagic stroke can lead to brain damage.

Hemorrhagic strokes are divided into two main categories:

Intracerebral hemorrhage. Bleeding is from the blood vessels within the brain.
Subarachnoid hemorrhage. Bleeding is in the subarachnoid space (the space between the brain and the membranes that cover the brain).

The most common causes for brain hemorrhages include:

Head trauma. Injury is one of the most common causes of bleeding in the brain in young children.
High blood pressure. Hypertension more commonly occurs in adults, but high blood pressure can occur in infants, children and teens. Blood pressure has to be extremely high to cause a hemorrhagic stroke by itself. More often it can cause a hemorrhagic stroke by putting high pressure on an already weak or abnormal blood vessel
Aneurysm. A weakening in a blood vessel wall that swells. The weakened blood vessel can burst and leak blood into the brain, causing a hemorrhagic stroke.
Blood or bleeding disorders. Hemophilia and sickle cell disease can both cause abnormal bleeding and clotting. Other conditions can cause decreased levels of blood platelets, also known as thrombocytopenia. Platelets are clotting agents in blood and help prevent blood loss from damaged blood vessels. Lower levels of platelets can cause more bleeding into surrounding tissue, as the body is less able to form a clot to plug a tear in a vessel.
Liver disease. Liver disease is associated with increased bleeding due to lower levels of clotting factors.
Brain tumors. When a brain tumor bleeds, it can cause symptoms similar to those of hemorrhagic stroke.

To make an appointment with a pediatric neurologist call 314.454.5437 or contact us online.

Hemorrhagic Stroke Symptoms

Hemorrhagic stroke symptoms often depend on the type, section of the brain affected and the underlying cause of the stroke. If more sections of the brain are affected, the symptoms are likely to be more severe. A common initial symptom of hemorrhagic stroke is seizures. During seizures, infants may arch their back and lock their limbs or experience spasms throughout their body. Infants and children may have shaking or stiffening on one or both sides of their body. Other symptoms of hemorrhagic stroke include extreme lethargy and sleepiness and hemiparesis (one-sided weakness). Older children may experience demonstrate speech problems or complain of severe headache.

Occasionally, symptoms of hemorrhagic stroke appear suddenly, but, sometimes, symptoms of hemorrhagic stroke present slowly and steadily get worse over time.

If you believe your child is currently showing signs of having a stroke it is important to visit an Emergency Room or call 911 immediately.

Diagnosing Hemorrhagic Strokes

After any symptoms of a stroke, it is advised to make an immediate trip to the emergency room or call 911.

Diagnosis of a hemorrhagic stroke begins with a medical history interview and physical exam. The medical team may ask about any history of head trauma, infection, delayed development and if there is a family history of bleeding problems. The physical exam will look for any signs of limb weakness, numbness and other signs of stroke.

Tests used in diagnosing hemorrhagic strokes may include:

Brain imaging studies. An MRI or CT scan may done to create a picture of the brain to look for physical evidence of stroke. An angiogram looks for blood vessel abnormalities.
Blood tests. Blood is taken to look for signs of infection and blood counts and clotting abnormalities.
Heart studies and blood vessel studies. Heart rhythm is checked with an EKG and special pictures of the heart and blood vessels may be taken to look for abnormalities.
Lumbar puncture. During a lumbar puncture fluid is taken from the spinal cord area to look for signs of bleeding in the brain.

Hemorrhagic Stroke Treatment

After any symptoms of stroke, it is advised to make an immediate trip to the emergency room or call 911.

Once at the hospital, there are several treatment options available for a hemorrhagic stroke. The type of treatment provided will depend on the cause and severity of the stroke as well as the age of the patient.

Treatment of a hemorrhagic stroke may include: