What can cause brain bleeds in young people?

Bleeding in the brain, a noble organ responsible for controlling voluntary and involuntary movements in the human body, is always seen, at least at first, as a cause for concern.

This week, the case of model and influencer Sthefane Matos, 23, who had a small brain bleed, drew attention to the problem and its possible causes.

According to Carlos Alberto Mattozo, a neurosurgeon at the Marcelino Champagnat hospital in Curitiba, bleeding in the brain is generally characterized as a hemorrhagic stroke.

“It occurs when a vessel bleeds, is more common in the elderly and is different from ischemic stroke, which happens by clogging of veins or arteries, impairing blood circulation.”

There are, however, other conditions that can cause bleeding in the brain of young people. Between them:

– Aneurysm

The problem is characterized by the abnormal dilation of a blood vessel, a consequence of weakening of the walls of the vein or artery. It usually causes heavy bleeding, but it is possible to have a small hemorrhage, considered an “alert”. Treatment usually includes surgical intervention.

– Cerebral arteriovenous malformation

A congenital problem (with which the person is born) of abnormality of the vascular system, creating arteries and veins of different sizes, malformed and that can rupture. Depending on the condition, treatment can be through placement of springs by catheterization, radiosurgery or conventional surgery.

– Tumors

Some specific types, such as brain cavernoma, cause changes that lead to bleeding. Treatment depends on the specific characteristics of each frame.

– Head trauma

In young people, trauma would have to be large to cause bleeding, unlike the consequence in the elderly, which can occur from a simple knock on a door, for example.

Neurologist Michelle Zimmermann, from Hospital São Vicente de Paulo, in Rio de Janeiro, explains that three main factors determine the severity of the case: “The place where the bleeding occurs [se é uma área nobre como a parte que influencia a coordenação motora]the size of the bleed, and the cause that caused the bleed to occur.”

In the case of Sthefane Matos, according to a video published by her, the causes listed above, considered more serious, were ruled out after tests performed during her stay in the intensive care unit (ICU). The influencer says that the suspicion is that the bleeding was caused by strong coughing spells that she had been suffering.

The hypothesis, in the opinion of neurosurgeon Carlos Alberto Mattozo, does not exclude rarer causes. “I would still have the suspicion of clotting disorders [trombofilias]vasculitis and other rare diseases, so the patient would need to continue to be closely monitored by a neurologist.”

Symptoms of Brain Bleeding

The most common symptom, Zimmermann points out, is a sudden, intense headache, stronger than the headaches most people experience on a daily basis.

However, if the bleeding is large or in a noble area of ​​the brain, there may still be paralysis of a part of the body, speech problems and difficulty seeing and swallowing, significant imbalance and dizziness. In the presence of one or more of these signs, help should be sought immediately.

The person must be hospitalized for further investigation. Health professionals can order magnetic resonance tomography, angioresonance and angiotomography, to see, in more detail, the situation of the cerebral arteries.

“When it happens in young people, because it is not a usual pattern, the patient needs to be very well investigated. If the medical team does not discover the cause, the person will need frequent, specialized monitoring to try to avoid new episodes”, concludes Mattozo.