Sample Solution

Hemorrhagic stroke is a type of cerebrovascular accident (CVA) caused by the rupture of a blood vessel in the brain and subsequent bleeding into surrounding tissue. It is one of two types of strokes, along with ischemic stroke, and can lead to death or permanent disability when untreated (Hemphill et al., 2019).

The pathophysiology of hemorrhagic stroke involves three main components: vascular damage due to pressure or trauma; disruption in autoregulation leading to increased intracranial pressure; and finally, cellular damage from the leaking blood itself (Kim et al., 2020). Injuries such as hypertension, aneurysms, arteriovenous malformations (AVMs), and amyloid angiopathy are all common causes for this type of CVA. Hypertension increases the risk for vascular injury while AVMs and amyloid angiopathy weaken vessel walls making them more susceptible to rupture. Finally, disruption in autoregulation leads to increased intracranial pressure that further increases stress on affected vessels (Kim et al., 2020).

Clinically significant signs and symptoms associated with hemorrhagic stroke include sudden onset headache with vomiting; altered consciousness including confusion, dizziness or coma; focal neurological deficits such as weakness on one side; seizures; visual disturbances including double vision or changes in color vision; neck stiffness among others (Hemphill et al., 2019).