Your loved one may be unable to make decisions about treatment. So you may need to decide what's best for them. Your loved one's surgeon, who is an expert on the brain (neurosurgeon), will talk with you. They may refer to the Hunt-Hess scale (see below). This scale helps the surgeon assess a person's condition. Treatment choices can be affected by test results and the grade showing how severe the hemorrhage is.

The grade is advanced one level if you have stroke plus a serious systemic disease, such as high blood pressure, diabetes, severe hardening of the arteries, or chronic lung disease. It's also raised one level if you have stroke and vasospasm.

Your neurosurgeon may use another aneurysm and neurological grading system, such as the Glascow Coma Scale or the World Federation of Neurological Surgeons grading scale.