Diagnosis and management of nontraumatic subarachnoid hemorrhage in elderly patients.

Subarachnoid hemorrhage is a significant problem in the geriatric population. The most common causes of nontraumatic subarachnoid hemorrhage in elderly patients are ruptured aneurysms or arteriovenous malformations. Aggressive therapy for aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage is warranted in many patients whereas conservative treatment of arteriovenous malformations is customarily warranted in this age group. Less common causes of subarachnoid hemorrhage in geriatric patients include tumor bleeding, bleeding diathesis, and systemic illnesses. A number of these considerations must be kept in the differential diagnosis of any subarachnoid hemorrhage in a geriatric patient.