A compromised blood artery bursts and bleeds into the nearby brain when a hemorrhagic stroke occurs. When this happens, the blood collects, causing swelling and pressure in the brain that harms nearby brain tissue. Uncontrolled high blood pressure, which places additional strain on the arterial walls until they break, is the most frequent cause of hemorrhagic stroke. A ruptured vessel may also be the outcome of an arteriovenous malformation (AVM), which is a grouping of improperly formed blood vessels, or an aneurysm, which is the ballooning of a weak spot in a vessel. Hemorrhagic strokes come in two types: intracerebral hemorrhage (brain bleeding) and subarachnoid hemorrhage (bleeding between the arachnoid membranes). Symptoms of hemorrhagic stroke Blood vessel ruptures can cause hemorrhagic strokes, which can have severe, urgent, and life-threatening symptoms like: Abrupt, debilitating headache in the back of the head. This has been called the "worst headache of your life"