overview
Image of an AVM brain
Brain AVMO Open Popup Dialog Image shows normal and abnormal blood vessels
Normal and abnormal blood vessels Open the pop-up dialog
A cerebral arteriovenous malformation (AVM) is a tangle of abnormal blood vessels that connect the arteries and veins in the brain.
- The arteries are responsible for delivering oxygen-rich blood from the heart to the brain. Veins carry deoxygenated blood to the lungs and heart. An AVM brain disrupts this vital process.
- An arteriovenous malformation can develop anywhere in your body, but it is most common in the brain or spine. Even so, brain AVMs are rare, affecting less than 1% of the population.
- The cause of AVMs is unclear. Most people are born with them, but sometimes they can form later in life. They are seldom passed genetically between families.Brain AVM (arteriovenous malformation) Treatment Hyderabad
symptom
A cerebral arteriovenous malformation may not cause any signs or symptoms until the AVM ruptures and causes bleeding in the brain (bleeding). Bleeding is the first sign of bleeding in about half of all brain AVMs.
However, some people with brain AVM may have signs and symptoms other than bleeding from the AVM.
In people without bleeding, signs and symptoms of brain AVM may include:
- Seizures
- Headache or pain in one area of the head
- Muscle weakness or numbness in any part of the body
The reasons
Normal and abnormal blood vessels
Open AVM blood flow popup dialog
The cause of brain AVMs is unknown, but researchers believe that most brain AVMs occur during the development of the fetus.Brain AVM (arteriovenous malformation) Treatment Hyderabad
- Normally, your heart sends oxygenated blood to your brain through your arteries. Arteries slow blood flow by directing it through a series of smaller and smaller blood vessel networks that terminate in smaller blood vessels (capillaries). The capillaries slowly deliver oxygen to the surrounding brain tissue through their thin, porous walls.
- The deoxygenated blood then travels through small blood vessels into larger veins that drain the blood from your brain and return it to your heart and lungs for more oxygen.
Risk factors
Anyone can be born with a brain AVM, but these factors can be at risk:
- Be a man. AVMs are more common in men.
- Do you have a family history. Cases of AVM in families have been reported, but it is not known whether there is a specific genetic factor or whether the cases are just incidental. It’s also possible to inherit other conditions that predispose you to vascular malformations like AVMs.Brain AVM (arteriovenous malformation) Treatment Hyderabad