Symptoms & Diagnoses
The common symptoms of Arteriovenous Malformation and diagnostic methods.
Symptoms of Arteriovenous Malformation
- Seizures– brain AVMs may create abnormal electrical activity in the brain by acting as an “irritant” and cause seizures
- Headaches– potentially caused by the high blood flow through the AVMs, and could range anywhere from mild to migraines; sudden and severe headaches may be caused by bleeding, especially if followed by nausea, vomiting, neurological problems, or decrease in level of consciousness
- Stroke-Like Symptoms– brain AVMs may deprive nearby brain tissues of oxygen and nutrients they require and cause stroke-like symptoms such as weakness/paralysis on one side of body, numbness and tingling, or problems with vision, hearing, balance, memory, or personality changes
- Bleeding (Hemorrhage)– subarachnoid hemorrhage is bleeding into the subarachnoid space of the brain, which is a type of stroke
- None– an AVM may be present but not cause any symptoms
Diagnosing Arteriovenous Malformation
- Cerebral Angiogram: catheter is inserted into an artery in the groin area, and pushed up the blood vessels up towards the brain, at which point contrast is shot up into the blood vessels of the brain in order to take pictures of the vessels (most accurate test in identifying the exact location and size of the AVM)
- Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI): generates highly detailed images of the body without using x-rays; Magnetic Resonance Angiogram (MRA) uses “pulse sequences” to show the blood vessels in the brain which is useful in identifying AVMs
- Computerized Tomography (CT Scan): can detect bleeding in the brain or fluid around the brain using x-rays