The "riot" of cerebral blood vessels: warnings and solutions to cerebral hemorrhage

Author: Qiu Feng, attending physician at Shuguang Hospital affiliated to Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine

Reviewer: Cai Peihao, deputy chief physician, Shuguang Hospital, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine

Cerebral hemorrhage, as a serious cerebrovascular disease, poses a major threat to human health. It not only occurs suddenly, but also progresses rapidly, often bringing a heavy blow to patients and their families. Therefore, correctly understanding cerebral hemorrhage, understanding its causes, symptoms and coping methods is the key to protecting the health of ourselves and our families.

1. Definition of Cerebral Hemorrhage

Cerebral hemorrhage, also known as cerebral hemorrhage or hemorrhagic stroke, refers to bleeding caused by non-traumatic rupture of blood vessels in the brain parenchyma. This situation can cause blood to accumulate in the brain tissue, compressing and damaging surrounding nerve cells, which can be life-threatening in severe cases.

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2. Causes of Cerebral Hemorrhage

The causes of cerebral hemorrhage are varied, mainly including the following aspects.

(1) Hypertension: Hypertension is the most common risk factor for cerebral hemorrhage. Long-term hypertension will increase the fragility of blood vessel walls. When blood pressure suddenly rises, it is easy to cause cerebral blood vessels to rupture and bleed.

(2) Intracranial aneurysm: Rupture of intracranial aneurysm is also a common cause of cerebral hemorrhage. Intracranial aneurysm is a tumor-like protrusion formed by abnormal local expansion of cerebral arteries. Once ruptured, a large amount of blood will flow into the brain tissue.

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(3) Other factors: such as cerebral vascular malformations, coagulation dysfunction, long-term heavy drinking and smoking, and blind use of certain drugs may also increase the risk of cerebral hemorrhage.

2. Symptoms and identification of cerebral hemorrhage

Symptoms of cerebral hemorrhage vary and often occur suddenly. Symptoms of cerebral hemorrhage can be seen: ① Headache, sudden severe pain in the head or sudden worsening of chronic pain; ② Severe vomiting and nausea; ③ Limb abnormalities, manifested as limb weakness, numbness, poor flexibility, or even paralysis; ④ Language disorders, inability to speak or very unclear words; ⑤ Visual abnormalities, double vision or blurred vision; ⑥ Nosebleeds, although uncommon, may occur in some patients; ⑦ Consciousness disorders, such as unexplained unconsciousness, drowsiness, lethargy, and even coma; ⑧ Sudden dizziness, feeling that the surrounding environment is spinning and unable to stand; ⑨ Neck and back pain, soreness, and stiffness.

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When people around you show the above symptoms, you should be highly alert to the possibility of cerebral hemorrhage and immediately call the emergency number for medical treatment.

3. Prevention of cerebral hemorrhage

The key to preventing cerebral hemorrhage is to control risk factors and maintain a healthy lifestyle.

(1) Control blood pressure: Normal people should measure their blood pressure regularly and keep it within the normal range. Hypertensive patients should take medication regularly as prescribed by their doctor to avoid excessive fluctuations in blood pressure.

(2) Balanced diet: Maintain a low-salt, low-fat, high-fiber diet. This helps control weight and blood pressure and reduce the risk of cerebral hemorrhage.

(3) Moderate exercise: Choose appropriate exercise according to your own situation, such as walking, jogging, swimming, etc., to enhance cardiopulmonary function and blood circulation.

(4) Quit smoking and limit alcohol consumption: Harmful substances in tobacco can increase blood pressure and accelerate arteriosclerosis; excessive drinking can also damage blood vessel health. Therefore, you should quit smoking and limit alcohol consumption.

(5) Emotional management: Maintain emotional stability and avoid large emotional fluctuations, such as excessive excitement and anger.

IV. Treatment of Cerebral Hemorrhage

The treatment of cerebral hemorrhage is a comprehensive process, which requires doctors to develop personalized treatment plans based on the patient's condition. The treatment principles mainly include the following aspects.

(1) Reduce intracranial pressure: Reduce intracranial pressure through drug therapy to reduce damage and edema of brain tissue.

(2) Control blood pressure: Keep blood pressure stable to avoid further damage to cerebral blood vessels caused by high or low blood pressure.

(3) Hemostatic treatment: For patients with active bleeding, hemostatic measures are needed to control bleeding.

(4) Surgical treatment: For patients with large amounts of bleeding or critical conditions, surgical treatment is generally required to remove hematomas or repair ruptured blood vessels. Surgical methods include decompressive craniectomy, small bone window craniotomy for hematoma removal, drilling or cone craniotomy for hematoma aspiration, etc.

(5) Rehabilitation therapy: Rehabilitation therapy after cerebral hemorrhage is a key measure for patients to restore limb function. Rehabilitation therapy includes physical rehabilitation, psychological rehabilitation, social rehabilitation and other aspects, aiming to help patients restore limb function, improve their quality of life and return to society.

As a serious cerebrovascular disease, cerebral hemorrhage poses a major threat to human health. By correctly understanding the definition, cause, symptoms, prevention and treatment of cerebral hemorrhage, we can better identify cerebral hemorrhage and provide help to family and friends at critical moments. At the same time, with the continuous advancement of medical technology and people's increasing attention to health, I believe that in the near future, we will be able to prevent and treat cerebral hemorrhage more effectively.

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Finally, I would like to remind all friends again that they should pay attention to their health in daily life and maintain a healthy lifestyle; if any suspected symptoms of cerebral hemorrhage appear, they should seek medical attention immediately and receive professional treatment to avoid delaying the disease.