Persistent headache, beware of blood clots in the brain

Headache is the earliest and most prominent symptom of cerebral venous thrombosis. It is characterized by continuous headache, increasing in severity day by day, worse at night, and often unresponsive to conventional painkillers.

Cerebral venous thrombosis silently endangers health - Illustration: BVCC

Master, Doctor Dinh Trung Hieu, Stroke Center, Bach Mai Hospital said that cerebral venous thrombosis often progresses more silently but is equally dangerous.

Silent blood clot in the brain

According to Dr. Hieu, cerebral venous thrombosis is a condition in which a blood clot forms in the venous system of the brain - the place responsible for carrying used blood back to the heart. When the vein is blocked, blood cannot escape, causing congestion in the brain, increasing intracranial pressure and causing damage to brain tissue.

Dr. Hieu said the situation was similar to a hydroelectric dam whose sluice gate was blocked, water was still pouring in steadily from upstream, but could not escape. The water level kept rising, putting great pressure on the dam. If not handled promptly, the dam could collapse. Likewise, if a blood clot is not detected and treated, the consequences could be dire.

Cerebral venous thrombosis accounts for only about 0.5-1% of all stroke cases, but is easily confused with common types of stroke.

Instead of occurring suddenly, cerebral venous thrombosis usually has a slow onset, with symptoms developing over several days.

"Among these, headache is the earliest and most prominent sign, a dull, persistent pain that gets worse, especially at night, and often does not respond to conventional pain relievers.

This may be accompanied by nausea, vomiting, blurred vision, convulsions, and even impaired consciousness. These signs are easy for many people to ignore until the condition becomes serious," Dr. Hieu stated.

Who is at risk for cerebral venous thrombosis?

According to Dr. Hieu, unlike strokes that are common in the elderly, cerebral venous thrombosis tends to occur in young people, especially pregnant or postpartum women.

People who use birth control pills for a long time, have autoimmune diseases such as lupus erythematosus, have head and neck infections (such as sinusitis, otitis media), cancer, congenital blood clotting disorders or have been infected with COVID-19 are also in the high-risk group.

What is special is that in many cases, no clear cause can be found. Therefore, paying attention to unusual signs in yourself and proactively seeking medical attention is extremely important.

"Because the symptoms are often nonspecific, diagnosing cerebral venous thrombosis is not simple. Doctors need to rely on specialized imaging such as computed tomography (CT-scan) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with contrast injection to detect thrombosis in the cerebral veins.

If diagnosed early, the disease can be treated effectively with anticoagulants - drugs that dissolve blood clots and prevent new clots from forming. In severe cases, patients may need surgery or intervention to remove the clot to reduce pressure on the brain," Dr. Hieu informed.

According to this expert, most patients, if detected and treated properly, can recover completely or have only mild sequelae. However, in cases of late diagnosis, widespread damage or brain hemorrhage, the prognosis will be very cautious, with a high risk of death and disability.

Dr. Hieu recommends that young women, pregnant women, or women who have just given birth and have a strange, prolonged, increasing headache, unlike the previous ones, should not be subjective. Especially when accompanied by blurred vision, nausea, convulsions or drowsiness, they should immediately go to a hospital with a neurology or stroke specialist for examination.

Full information about risk factors will help the doctor make a more accurate diagnosis.

LINH HAN

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/dau-dau-keo-dai-coi-chung-cuc-mau-dong-trong-nao-20250609171413569.htm