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Updated: Apr 15, 2026
Pre-Chiasmatic, Single Injection of Autologous Blood to Induce Experimental Subarachnoid Hemorrhage in a Rat Model
Published on: June 18, 2021
Long-term subarachnoid haemorrhage survivors still die due to cerebrovascular causes
C Lindgren1, S Söderberg2, L-O D Koskinen3
1Department of Surgical and Perioperative Sciences, Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden.
Insights
Long-term survivors of subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) face a significantly higher risk of death from cerebrovascular diseases. This study found no increased cardiovascular disease mortality risk in SAH survivors compared to the general population.
Area of Science:
- Neurology
- Cardiology
- Public Health
Background:
- Subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) is linked to sympathetic nervous system activation and inflammation.
- These physiological responses suggest SAH may be a risk factor for cardiovascular disease development.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the long-term risk of cardiovascular death in subarachnoid hemorrhage survivors.
- To determine if SAH survivors have an increased mortality risk due to cardiovascular causes one year or more after the event.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective analysis of SAH patients (≥18 years) treated at Umeå University Hospital (1986-2006).
- Identification of deceased patients via the Swedish population register and analysis of death certificates.
- Comparison of mortality data with the general population and cardiovascular risk factors from the northern Sweden MONICA (Multinational Monitoring of Trends and Determinants in Cardiovascular Disease) survey.
- Stratified analyses by age and sex.
Main Results:
- Long-term SAH survivors showed a significantly increased risk of death from cerebrovascular disease compared to the general population (P < 0.0001).
- No significant increase in death risk from cardiovascular disease was observed in SAH survivors.
- Hypertension was more prevalent in SAH patients than in the general population (P < 0.01).
Conclusions:
- Cerebrovascular causes of death are significantly more common in long-term survivors of subarachnoid hemorrhage.
- While SAH is associated with hypertension, it does not appear to increase long-term cardiovascular mortality risk.
Objective:
Subarachnoid haemorrhage (SAH) is associated with sympathetic nervous activation and inflammation. SAH could therefore theoretically be a risk factor for development of cardiovascular disease. The aim of this study was to investigate whether long-term (≥1 year) SAH survivors had an increased risk of death due to cardiovascular causes.
Material & Methods:
SAH patients ≥18 years treated at Umeå University Hospital between 1986 and 2006 were eligible for inclusion. Deceased patients were identified in the Swedish population register. Death certificates from long-term SAH survivors and causes of death in the general population were obtained from the National Board of Health and Welfare, Sweden. The prevalence of comorbidities at the time of SAH was compared with the distribution of cardiovascular risk factors in the northern Sweden MONICA (Multinational Monitoring of Trends and Determinants in Cardiovascular Disease) health survey. Analyses were stratified for age and sex.
Results:
In the SAH patients, the median year of SAH was 1992 and the median year of death was 2001. The MONICA survey in 1994 and the distribution of deaths in the general population in 2001 were used for comparison. Long-term SAH survivors had, compared to the general population, a significantly increased risk for death due to cerebrovascular disease (P < 0.0001), but not for death due to cardiovascular disease. Hypertension was more common in SAH patients compared to survey participants (P < 0.01).
Conclusion:
Cerebrovascular causes of death were significantly more common in long-term survivors after SAH compared to the general population.
