A brain hemorrhage is a type of stroke. It’s caused by an artery in the brain bursting and causing localized bleeding in the surrounding tissues. This bleeding kills brain cells. The Greek root for blood is hemo. Hemorrhage literally means “blood bursting forth.” Brain hemorrhages are also called cerebral hemorrhages, intracranial hemorrhages, or intracerebral hemorrhages. They account for about 13% of strokes.

What Happens During a Brain Hemorrhage?

When blood from trauma irritates brain tissues, it causes swelling. This is known as cerebral edema. The pooled blood collects into a mass called a hematoma. These conditions increase pressure on nearby brain tissue, and that reduces vital blood flow and kills brain cells.

Bleeding can occur inside the brain, between the brain and the membranes that cover it, between the layers of the brain’s covering or between the skull and the covering of the brain.