Health

Important examples of diseases causing secondary headaches include:

• Tumors in the brain, including tumors that have spread (metastasized) to the brain from another organ such as the lung or breast

• Subdural hematomas, which are collections of blood underneath the dura (the covering of the brain) due to bleeding from ruptured veins. Subdural hematomas typically occur in elderly individuals after a fall or other trauma to the head. Sometimes the fall can precede the visit to the doctor by weeks, and the elderly patients may not even recall the fall. Symptoms of subdural hematomas include chronic headaches, change in personality, and weakness of the extremities.

• Epidural hematomas, which are rapid collections of blood due to the rupture of arteries that run on the inner surface of the skull. Epidural hematomas usually are the result of skull fractures. The typical story is a head injury that causes a concussion with loss of consciousness and a skull fracture. The return of consciousness is followed by the sudden development of coma caused by an expanding hematoma.

• Infections such as meningitis caused by bacteria (meningococcus and pneumococcus), tuberculosis, Lyme disease, or cryptococcus

• Strokes due either to blood clots within the arteries of the brain or rupture of the blood vessels in the brain

• Subarachnoid hemorrhages which are caused by bleeding into the space between the brain and its outer arachnoid lining. The most common source of subarachnoid hemorrhage is an aneurysm, a ballooning of the weakened wall of an artery inside the head.

• Sudden onset of severe high blood pressure. (Chronic mild to moderate high blood pressure is not a common cause of headache).

• Temporal arteritis, a vasculitis (inflammation) of the temporal artery which runs beneath the skin of the temple. Temporal arteritis occurs primarily in older people and may be associated with fatigue, body aches, and anemia. Without proper treatment, temporal arteritis may lead to blindness and strokes.

• Acute angle glaucoma with sudden elevation of pressures inside the eyes

• Infections of the sinuses (sinusitis), ear (otitis), and teeth

• Hypothyroidism, a condition in which the thyroid gland does not produce enough thyroid hormone

• Repeated carbon monoxide poisoning

• Parkinson's disease

• Medications such as indomethacin, estrogen, progestins, calcium channel blockers (commonly used for treating high blood pressure), and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (commonly used to treat depression)

• Overuse of over-the-counter or prescription pain relievers. Overuse of pain relievers causes the pain relievers to become less effective. As the effect of the pain reliever wears off, headaches recur (rebound headache).

• Cardiac ischemia (lack of blood supply to the muscles of the heart caused by coronary artery disease). Although cardiac ischemia is best known as a cause of either heart attacks or angina, it also may cause a headache. The headache may occur with or without the accompanying chest pain of a heart attack or angina. As with angina, in some individuals the headache may occur with exertion and subside with rest.

Posted by Liza In Silence on Friday, 15 June 2007 at 5:07 pm | Permalink