SENTINEL HEADACHE: PRESENT, BUT POORLY REMEMBERED

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To perform a narrative review of the literature on sentinel headache. CONTENTS: Headache is a high prevalence worldwide, especially in women. There are several conditions that can lead to its occurrence, among them the Subarachnoid Hemorrhage (SAH) (known as the 3rd largest cause of stroke). In the context of SAH, there is a symptom that is sometimes overlooked in the clinical investigation of stroke: Sentinel headache. It is conceptualized as sudden, unusual, unexplained, explosive type, persistent and of lesser intensity than the SAH headache, which usually precedes SAH for days or weeks. This article provides a narrative review of the literature on sentinel headache, using the Pubmed and LILACS databases. The prevalence is 10 - 43% of this condition in SAH, and may be a predictive factor in the early identification of the patient with risk for aneurysmal bleeding. CONCLUSION: Both medical education and accurate action on the subject are necessary in order to change the outcomes of the HSA.