title: Subarachnoid Haemorrhage and Sports.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medicine, University of Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal.
authors.forename: Liliana
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Sousa Nanji
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medicine, University of Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal ; Neurology/Stroke Unit, Department of Neurosciences, Hospital de Santa Maria, Lisbon, Portugal.
authors.forename: Teresa P
authors.initials: TP
authors.lastname: Melo
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medicine, University of Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal ; Neurology/Stroke Unit, Department of Neurosciences, Hospital de Santa Maria, Lisbon, Portugal.
authors.forename: Patrícia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Canhão
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medicine, University of Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal ; Neurology/Stroke Unit, Department of Neurosciences, Hospital de Santa Maria, Lisbon, Portugal.
authors.forename: Ana Catarina
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Fonseca
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medicine, University of Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal ; Neurology/Stroke Unit, Department of Neurosciences, Hospital de Santa Maria, Lisbon, Portugal.
authors.forename: José Manuel
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Ferro
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D003615:Dancing / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D015444:Exercise; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011174:Portugal / Q000453:epidemiology; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012042:Registries; D012307:Risk Factors; D012420:Running / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D013177:Sports / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D013345:Subarachnoid Hemorrhage / Q000453:epidemiology*
keywords: Aerobics; Body balance; Cerebral aneurysm; Cycling; Dance; Running; Sport; Subarachnoid haemorrhage; Surf; Windsurf