Emergency Neurological Conditions

Cerebral vasospasm

Spasm of the brain arteries, or cerebral vasospasm, can occur in the setting of a particular type of brain hemorrhage, subarachnoid hemorrhage. Subarachnoid hemorrhage is bleeding in the fluid filled spaces of the brain, where the larger brain arteries travel. Blood in these spaces can be irritating to brain arteries, causing them to spasm. This is called vasospasm.

Vasospasm occurs when the arteries of the brain start to close and can result in stroke. Vasospasm is prevented by administering certain medications soon after a subarachnoid hemorrhage. Some of these drugs may be experimental. When spasm occurs the spastic arteries can be opened by placing a balloon catheter in them and dilating them (angioplasty), by placing a catheter in them and administering medications directly into the brain (arterial infusion), or by injecting medications directly into the fluid compartment of the brain via a ventriculostomy (intrathecal infusion). Medically, spasm is treated by artificially raising blood pressure and blood volume to overcome restriction in blood flow through the spastic arteries. This is called hypertensive and hypervolemic therapy.