Subarachnoid Haemorrhage and Sports

BACKGROUND: Some cases of subarachnoid haemorrhage (SAH) have been associated with vigorous physical activity, including sports. Our research aimed to describe the association between SAH and sports and to identify the types of sports that were more frequently found as precipitating factors in a tertiary single-centre SAH register. METHODS: We retrieved information from a prospectively collected SAH registry and reviewed discharge notes of acute SAH patients admitted to the Stroke Unit of Hospital de Santa Maria, Lisbon, between 1995 and 2014. RESULTS: Out of 738 patients included in the analysis, 424 (57.5%) cases of SAH were preceded by physical activity. Nine cases (1.2%) were associated with sports, namely running (2 cases), aerobics (2 cases), cycling, body balance, dance, surf and windsurf. Patients with SAH while practicing sports were younger than controls (average age 43.1 vs. 57.0 years; p = 0.007). In 1 patient, there was a report of trauma to the neck. Patients in the sports group only had Hunt and Hess scale grades 1 (11.1%) or 2 (88.9%) at admission, while patients in the control group had a wider distribution in severity. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings indicate that SAH precipitated by sports is not very frequent and is uncommonly related to trauma. Patients who suffered SAH associated with sports were younger and apparently had a milder clinical presentation.