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Ency. home > Disease > H > Hypertensive intracerebral hemorrhage

Hypertensive intracerebral hemorrhage   

Overview | Symptoms | Treatment | Prevention

Alternative names:

Hemorrhage - intracerebral (hypertensive)

Definition:

Hypertensive intracerebral hemorrhage is a condition where there is bleeding within the brain (caused by changes in the blood vessels of the brain) as a result of high blood pressure.

Causes and Risks

Intracerebral hemorrhage can affect any person (regardless of age, sex, or race), but it is most common in older individuals.

Hypertensive intracerebral hemorrhage is caused by the effects of high blood pressure. When the blood pressure is chronically high, the blood vessel walls may change in a process called liphyalinosis, which may result in occlusion and leakage of blood from the constant pressure on the vessel walls.

Intracerebral bleeding associated with hypertension most commonly occurs in the tissues of the basal ganglia, pons, cerebellum and deep white matter of the brain. Blood irritates the brain tissues, causing swelling (cerebral edema).

The blood collects into a mass (hematoma). Both the swelling of the brain tissues and the presence of a hematoma within the brain put increasing pressure on the brain tissues and eventually destroys them.

Bleeding may occur into the ventricles of the brain or into the subarachnoid space (the space between the brain and the membranes covering the brain), causing symptoms of meningeal irritation.

Ency. home > Disease > H > Hypertensive intracerebral hemorrhage

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