When someone is taken to hospital with a suspected stroke, a brain scan should be carried out urgently within one hour of arriving in hospital. Scans can help doctors decide if you have had a stroke and if you need other tests.
CT scan/MRI scan for diagnosing haemorrhagic stroke
- Computed tomography (CT): The scan will usually be a computed tomography (CT) scan because this type of scan is very sensitive to bleeding within or around the brain.
- Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI): You may also have a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan.
Other tests and checks for haemorrhagic stroke include:
- Computed tomography angiogram (CTA). This CT scan includes an injection of a special dye into a vein in your arm, to create a picture of the blood vessels in your brain. It can detect an aneurysm, arteriovenous malformation (AVM) or other abnormality of larger blood vessels.
- Lumbar puncture. This test is usually only done if doctors suspect a subarachnoid haemorrhage (SAH.) This looks for blood in the cerebrospinal fluid (the fluid around your brain and spinal cord), which can be a sign of bleeding around the brain (SAH). The fluid is taken from your lower spine using a very thin needle. It’s done under local anaesthetic to numb the area.
- Digital subtraction angiogram or catheter angiogram. This uses a special dye injection and X-rays to try to find an aneurysm or AVM. A fine tube called a catheter is put into an artery, usually in the groin. A liquid is injected into the blood to make the blood vessels show up on an X-ray and find any abnormal vessels.