Question

Excluding head trauma, the most common cause of subarachnoid haemorrhage is:

• A. Arterio-venous malformation
• B. Cavernous angioma
• C. Aneurysm
• D. Hypertension

Hint:

Excluding trauma, ruptured berry (saccular) aneurysm is the top cause of SAH.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is C

Step 1: Subarachnoid haemorrhage (SAH) is bleeding into the space between the arachnoid and pia mater. Once head trauma is excluded, the question asks for the leading spontaneous cause.

Step 2: The most common cause of spontaneous SAH is rupture of a saccular (berry) aneurysm. These aneurysms typically arise at branch points of the major arteries forming the circle of Willis, most often in the anterior circulation.

Step 3: Arteriovenous malformations and cavernous angiomas can bleed but are far less frequent causes of SAH. Hypertension is more classically linked to intracerebral (deep parenchymal) haemorrhage rather than subarachnoid bleeding.

Step 4: Therefore the single best answer is aneurysm (saccular or berry aneurysm).