Symptoms:

Symptoms vary depending on the location of the bleed and the amount of brain tissue affected. The symptoms usually develop suddenly, without warning, often during activity. They may occasionally develop in a stepwise pattern, or they may get worse over time.

Symptoms include:

• Abnormal sense of taste
• Change in alertness (level of consciousness)
  • Apathetic, withdrawn
  • Sleepy, lethargic, stuporous
  • Unconscious, comatose
• Difficulty speaking or understanding speech
• Difficulty swallowing
• Difficulty writing or reading
• Headache
  • May occur when lying flat
  • May awaken patient from sleep
  • May increase with change in position
  • May increase with bending, straining, and coughing
• Loss of coordination
• Loss of balance
• Movement changes
  • Difficulty moving any body part
  • Hand tremor
  • Loss of fine motor skills
  • Weakness of any body part
• Nausea, vomiting
• Seizure
• Sensation changes
  • Abnormal sensations
  • Decreased sensation
  • Facial paralysis
  • Numbness or tingling
• Vision changes
  • Any change in vision
  • Decreased vision, loss of all or part of vision
  • Double vision
  • Eyelid drooping
  • Pupils different size
  • Uncontrollable eye movements

Signs and tests:

A medical history and brain/nervous system (neurological) exam may find evidence of increased intracranial pressure or decreased brain functions. Your specific symptoms can help the health care provider tell which part of the brain is affected.

Other signs include:

• Abnormal reflexes
• Changes in eye movement
• Decreased vision
• Inability to feel sensations properly
• Loss of movement or coordination
• Swelling of the optic nerve from increased pressure in the brain

Tests may include:

• Bleeding time
• Cerebral angiography or spiral CT scan angiography of the head
• Complete blood count (CBC)
• Head CT scan
• Head MRI or MRA
• Kidney function tests
• Liver function tests
• Platelet count
• Prothrombin time ( PT) or partial thromboplastin time ( PTT)