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A subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) is bleeding into the subarachnoid space that exists between the arachnoid and pia membranes that surround the brain.
Current Knowledge
SAH may result from trauma or occur spontaneously from a ruptured cerebral aneurysm or less commonly from an arteriovenous malformation. SAH comprises 1–7% of all strokes. Incidence is estimated to be about 9 per 100,000 per year. Patients with SAH tend to be younger than those with other types of stroke, but the incidence increases with age. SAH is a medical emergency and can lead to death or severe disability. Up to one-half are fatal, many even before the patient reaches the hospital. Symptoms include rapid onset of a severe headache (often called a “thunderclap headache”), nausea, confusion, altered consciousness, seizure, visual disturbances, cardiac arrhythmias, and focal neurological deficits such as hemiparesis, sensory loss, or aphasia. About one-third of...
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References
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Roth, E. (2018). Subarachnoid Hemorrhage. In: Kreutzer, J., DeLuca, J., Caplan, B. (eds) Encyclopedia of Clinical Neuropsychology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-56782-2_2201-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-56782-2_2201-2
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