The death rate of a person suffering from Subarachnoid haemorrhage (SAH), a type of brain stroke occurring due to bleeding in the subarachnoid space and comprises around 3 per cent of all strokes, may reach up to 35 per cent in 30 days from the time of onset and several of the surviving individuals may remain disabled for life. This was stated by Dr Vikram Huded, Senior Consultant, Interventional Neurologist and Head of Neurology, Narayana Health Institute of Neurosciences.

Citing a case study of a six-month pregnant, 28-year-old lady, Dr Huded mentioned that the initial signs of the neurological condition can be as simple as headache and vomiting. If simple signs do not go away after initial medication, it’s wise to seek a specialist opinion. Though the exact risk factors remain unknown in most, some of the known risk factors include smoking, hypertension (high blood pressure), heavy alcoholism, drugs like cocaine, and certain rare genetic syndromes (e.g., autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease).

Traumatic SAH is the commonest form and is treated in lines of other accompanying brain injuries resulting from direct or indirect mechanical impact to the skull and brain. Aneurysmal SAH is the commonest form of spontaneous SAH and results from rupture of an aneurysm- a ballooned-out area in the wall of a brain artery.