Hémorragie sous-arachnoïdienne: épidémiologie, prédisposition, présentation clinique

Subarachnoid haemorrhage (SAH) accounts for 1 to 7% of all strokes. In France, the range of incidence of SAH varies between 3 and 8/100 000 inhabitants. Global mortality lies around 40%, including 70% during the first week. The size of more than 90% of all aneurysms is less than 10 mm. In more than 90% of the patients; SAH is sporadic and a familial screening is warranted only after SAH occurring in 2 first-degree relatives. The main risk factors of SAH are tobacco, arterial hypertension and alcohol abuse. Genetic susceptibility may exist: it could involve several genes, the expression of which would characterize pathophysiological pathways implicated in the disease. This could be identified using genomic technique of microarrays, which could explore all the genome, simply using a sample of peripheral venous blood. For example, in the future, this approach could help to identify patients who are at high risk to develop vasospasm after SAH.