Arteriovenous malformation (cerebral)

Alternative names:

AVM

Symptoms:

• headache
  • sudden and severe
  • localized or general
  • resembles migraine headache in some cases

• vomiting that occurs with headache
• vision changes
  • decreased vision
  • double vision
  • blurred vision

• 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

Additional symptoms that may be associated with this disease:

• speech impairment
• smell, impaired
• movement, dysfunctional
• fainting
• facial paralysis
• eyelid drooping
• ear noise/buzzing
• dizziness
• consciousness, decreased

Signs and tests:

Neurologic and muscular examination may indicate bleeding in the brain. There may be signs of increased intracranial pressure, focal neurologic deficits (loss of specific neurologic functions), or other abnormal findings. In some cases, a bruit (whooshing sound heard with the stethoscope) may be heard over the carotid arteries of the neck or over the eye or jaw.

Tests that may be used to diagnose AVM include:

• a head CT scan
• a cerebral angiography
• a cranial MRI

A spinal tap and CSF cell count may show bleeding or increased intracranial pressure.

An EEG (electroencephalogram) may be performed if symptoms include seizures.