The Penumbra Conundrum

…or How to Control Blood Pressure in Brain Bleeds

The scenario is this:
A 62 year old male is brought in to your emergency department by ambulance. He has had a sudden onset of headache and has decreased use of left side. His vitals are:

GCS 14, HR 92, BP 210/100, Sats 95% on room air.

A CT reveals a large intracerebral bleed.


Do we lower the blood pressure? If yes, to what do we lower it to? What’s the evidence?


Here’s a quick summary, as I’ll be covering this in detail at EMCORE.

Read More