Recurrent intracerebral hemorrhage due to hypertension

We report a series of 14 patients who had recurrent intracerebral hemorrhage due to hypertension. These patients comprise 2.7% of all those admitted to the Soonchunhyang University Chonan Hospital for hypertensive intracerebral hemorrhage from 1985 to 1988. Women outnumbered men by 13 to 1. The mean age of the patients was 54.5 years at the time of the first hemorrhage and 55.4 years at the time of the second hemorrhage. The mean interval between attacks was 13.1 months. All patients were hypertensive on admission, and in 10 patients hypertension had been diagnosed previously. None of the patients had received regular antihypertensive therapy, even after the first hemorrhage. Hemiplegia was the most common deficit seen after both the first and second attacks. The site of the first hemorrhage was ganglionic in 9 patients, cerebellar in 3 patients, and lobar in 2 patients. The site of the second hemorrhage was ganglionic in 9 patients and lobar in 5. The site of recurrent hemorrhage was different from the initial site in all patients except one. The most common pattern of recurrence was "ganglionic-ganglionic." The "lobar-lobar" pattern was noted in only 1 patient. The hypertensive changes of the cerebral arteries are considered to be the major cause of these recurrent hemorrhages. We believe that recurrent intracerebral hemorrhages in hypertensive patients are not rare as previously thought. Possible reasons for the increased frequency of recurrent intracerebral hemorrhage are discussed.