Unexpected brain hemorrhages and the value of computerized tomography

Intracerebral hemorrhage has been thought in the past to be manifested by sudden onset of hemiplegia, severe headache and deep coma proceeding to death in most cases. There are patients who present with less ominous symptoms who have heretofore been thought to have cerebral infarction or transient ischemic attacks who in reality have intracerebral hemorrhages. Computerized tomography has allowed us to identify these patients and to separate them from the large group of patients with ischemic infarcts either due to thromboses or emboli. Six patients were reported with unexpected brain hemorrhages and their good prognosis is emphasized.