I did some more research and it looks like the mechanism of damage in hemorrhagic stroke is from the irritation of the neural cells which leads to swelling (edema) as well as some compression damage.
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000761.htm
Hemorrhagic stroke occurs when a blood vessel bursts inside the brain. The brain is very sensitive to bleeding and damage can occur very rapidly. Bleeding irritates the brain tissue, causing swelling. Bleeding collects into a mass called a hematoma. Bleeding also increases pressure on the brain and presses it against the skull.
Old news to you doubtless, but fascinating new information to a newbie like me.
I imagine though that the swelling is slowed by cold, and the damage takes some time to become irreversibly permanent. I think the case is strong that the SA treatment did more good than harm for this patient.
On the other hand, it is quite probable that they did not do as much good as is potentially possible. A well-trained team in an operating room could likely have done better. This is why I think setting up relations with hospitals to do pre-storage cryonics operations should be a high priority.
