Arteriovenous malformation - cerebral

Injury	Disease	Nutrition	Poison

Symptoms	Surgery	Test	Special Topic

Arteries of the brain

Arteriovenous malformation - cerebral

Alternative Names:

AVM - cerebral
Symptoms:

Headache
- Sudden and severe
- Localized or general
- Resembles migraine headache in some cases
Vomiting that occurs with headache
Vision changes
Seizures
- Partial (focal) seizure
- Generalized tonic-clonic seizure
Muscle weakness, any part of the body
Decreased sensation, any part of the body
Mental status change
- Sleepy, stuporous, lethargic
- Confused, disoriented
- Irritability
Stiff neck

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Additional symptoms that may be associated with this disease:

Signs and tests:

A complete physical examination and neurologic examination are required to detect abnormal flow in vessels and any focal neurologic signs (weakness, numbness, language problems, visual problems).

Tests that may be used to diagnose AVM include:

Head CT scan
Cerebral angiogram
Cranial MRI
MRA (magnetic resonance angiography)

An EEG (electroencephalogram) may be performed if symptoms include seizures, but it will not identify the specific area of the lesion. On the MRI, it is important to rule out that the blood clot is not due to a tumor that has bled.