There are several reasons why bleeding in the brain can occur. Trauma or a head injury can cause it, as can deformities in the blood vessels in the brain. Without a proper diagnosis, an individual cannot determine with certainty what is causing the bleeding. Brain bleeding is a serious health condition that can cause irreparable damage to the body and even result in death. The medical term for it is either intracranial hemorrhaging or intracerebral hemorrhaging.
The most common reason for brain bleeding is trauma to the head caused by an accident or injury. There are less common reasons, such as abnormalities in the blood vessels in the brain, which can also cause strokes, seizures, and neurological problems. Some people are born with abnormal blood vessels in the brain and others find that it develops as they age.
Another reason for bleeding in the brain is hypertension. High blood pressure causes the walls of the blood vessels to bulge and weaken, and they can burst. Hypertension is often called the "silent killer," since it can quietly damage the body and brain for years without the appearance of recognizable symptoms.
Excessive protein deposits in the blood vessel walls can also cause brain bleeding. Multiple studies have determined that the most prominent cause of protein deposits in the brain have been linked to drugs like aspirin. Researchers that studied brain scans of more than a thousand people found that 70% of those that took aspirin had microscopic bleeding in the brain. Aspirin is an anti-clotting drug that is used to prevent blood clots, but anti-clotting drugs increase the risk of bleeding by thinning the vessel walls and blood.
A person with bleeding in the brain will often have symptoms of the problem. It can cause a change in alertness because it leads to lethargy. If the bleeding is excessive, a person can become unconscious or even comatose.
Other common symptoms include the loss of balance and coordination, nausea, vomiting, and vision changes. An abnormal sense of taste is also a common sign of a bleeding brain. An individual with symptoms of bleeding should consult a medical professional for further diagnosis. Fortunately, there are imaging techniques that can be used to detect broken blood vessels in the brain.