• Weakness or inability to move a body part
• Numbness, loss of sensation
• Decreased or lost vision, (may be partial)
• Speech difficulties (aphasia)
• Inability to recognize or identify familiar things ("agnosia")
• Vertigo (sensation of the world spinning around)
• Dizziness
• Loss of coordination
• Swallowing difficulties
• Consciousness changes:
  • Sleepy
  • Stuporous/somnolent/lethargic
  • Comatose or unconscious

The neurologic exam is almost always abnormal. Patients may look drowsy and confused. Eye examination may show abnormal eye movements, and changes may be seen on retinal examination (examination of the back of the eye with an instrument called ophtalmoscope). Abnormal reflexes may be present. However, these findings are not specific to brain hemorrhage.

The most important test to confirm the presence of a brain hemorrhage is a CT scan, which provides pictures of the brain, and should be obtained without delay. A brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan can also be obtained later to better understand what caused the bleeding. A conventional angiography (X-rays of the arteries using dye) may be required to demonstrate aneurysms and/or AVM.

Other tests may include:

• CBC
• Bleeding time
• Prothrombin/partial thromboplastin time (PT/PTT)
• CSF (cerebrospinal fluid) examination (rarely needed)