An arteriovenous malformation (AVM) is an abnormal connection between an artery (s) and a vein (s) with an intervening cluster of blood vessels in-between.

AVMs can cause symptoms by irritating the surrounding brain (Seizures/fits), by bleeding and causing a type of stroke and by stealing blood from surrounding areas of the brain.

Many AVMs are found incidentally when performing imaging on the brain for other reasons.

Management of those AVMs found incidentally requires in-depth discussions about the expected bleeding risk and the risk associated with treatment.

Treatments available for AVMs include surgery, stereotactic radiosurgery (focused radiation) and a combined approach. Below is a link to one of my research papers on using a combined approach to treat brain AVMs

click here for more information

Depending on your individual situation you may require an MRI scan, CT angiogram and/or a formal Digital subtraction angiogram (DSA)