Headache is relatively common in patients with cerebrovascular disorders. The reported frequency of stroke-related headache ranges from 7% to 65% and different types of headache, such as onset headache, sentinel headache, or delayed headache, may be observed in association with stroke. Headache can be attributed to ischemic stroke, transient ischemic attack, or non-traumatic intracranial hemorrhage, including intracerebral and subarachnoid hemorrhage. Headache at stroke onset is more common in subarachnoid hemorrhage, most prominently associated with severe headache, and in intracerebral hemorrhage than in ischemic stroke or transient ischemic attack. The typical presentation of subarachnoid hemorrhage includes the sudden onset of severe headache with nausea, vomiting, neck pain, photophobia, and loss of consciousness. Headache is the only symptom in about a third of patients with subarachnoid hemorrhage. The suddenness of onset and not its severity is the characteristic feature of the headache in subarachnoid hemorrhage. Referring to unruptured vascular malformations, the headache can be attributed to saccular aneurysm, arteriovenous malformation, dural arteriovenous fistula, dural cavernous angioma, and encephalotrigeminal or leptomeningeal angiomatosis (Sturge-Weber syndrome). It is very important to recognize that in the latter forms the onset of headache may indicate an upcoming bleeding complication.
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