Arteriovenous Malformation - Case 3

A 46-year old woman presented with a headache and vomiting. A dense left visual field cut was present on examination.

Outline the AVM

Arteriovenous Malformation (AVM): Cerebral Angiogram: Right internal carotid artery (ICA) injection. (Left) AP view; (Right) lateral view. Note the large tangle of blood vessels arising from the posterior branches of the middle cerebral artery (MCA).

Arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) are a congenital abnormality of blood vessels. They consist of a tangle of abnormal vessels supplied by arterial feeders and often drained by large dilated veins. AVMs most often occur in isolation. Rarely, they are associated with genetic disorders, among them: Osler-Weber-Rendu syndrome (hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia), Sturge-Weber disease, and von Hippel-Lindau syndrome. AVMs are often asymptomatic. Symptoms, when present, may include:

• headaches (in some cases a unilateral throbbing headache, mimicking a migraine headache)

• seizures (focal, or focal to generalized)

• focal neurological deficits

• bleeding (may mimic subarachnoid hemorrhage from an aneurysm; bleeding from AVMs account for 2% of all strokes)

Larger AVMs are often seen on CT or MRI. Angiography is required to define the vascular anatomy and plan appropriate treatment. Treatment may involve surgical resection, embolization or radiotherapy.


Revised 11/29/06
Copyrighted 2006. David C Preston