Arteriovenous Malformation

Symptoms

About 50 percent of people who have arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) seek emergency medical care because the blood vessels in the AVM burst and bleed into surrounding brain tissue. This causes headache, weakness or numbness on one side of the body, trouble with speech, or changes of consciousness depending on the size and location. Eighty to 90 percent of patients who have a hemorrhage from an AVM survive the initial rupture.

The second most common symptom of an AVM is a seizure. All types of seizures have been reported in association with AVMs and many can be controlled with anti-seizure medication. Other patients may experience a bothersome pulsing noise in one ear or both ears, called pulsatile tinnitus. The pressure AVMs exert on normal brain cells may lead to weakness on one side of the body, sensation loss or numbness, or difficulty speaking or understanding others.