Final answer:
A patient with a subarachnoid hemorrhage presents with a sudden severe headache, nausea, neck stiffness, and other stroke symptoms. If untreated, it can quickly become fatal due to increasing pressure on the brain.
Step-by-step explanation:
A patient with a subarachnoid hemorrhage would present with a sudden, severe headache often described as a 'thunderclap headache,' which is much worse than a regular headache. They may also experience vomiting, neck stiffness, and sensitivity to light, among other symptoms.
This condition is characterized by bleeding into the brain caused by a damaged blood vessel. It can cause hemorrhagic stroke, which is a critical emergency. Symptoms of a stroke often include loss of function like movement, feeling, or sight on one side of the body, difficulty with speech, confusion, memory issues, and dizziness.
If a blow to the head fractures the bones of the pterion, located laterally on the head, it can cause damage to an underlying artery, leading to a hematoma that puts pressure on the brain, which is a dire medical emergency potentially resulting in death within hours if untreated.