Secondary headache and head pain emergencies

The vast majority of patients presenting to primary care physicians complaining of headache have primary headaches, such as migraine,tension, or cluster. Secondary or organic headaches, however,always need to be considered, because when present they require prompt diagnosis and intervention. Approximately 10%of patients presenting to the emergency department complaining of headache have a secondary headache, and as many as one in three sudden severe headaches in patients presenting to a general practitioner's office can be attributed to an urgent neurologic condition that requires rapid evaluation and management.