Arteriovenous malformation
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| Arteriovenous malformation Classification and external resources | |
 | |
|---|---|
| Brain: Arteriovenous Malformation: Gross fixed tissue close-up view of malformation in meninges and cerebral cortex (an excellent example). Image courtesy of Professor Peter Anderson DVM PhD and published with permission © PEIR, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Department of Pathology | |
| ICD-10 | Q27.3, Q28.0, Q28.2 |
| ICD-9 | 747.6, 747.81 |
| DiseasesDB | 15235 |
| eMedicine | med/169 med/170 neuro/21 |
| MeSH | D001165 |
| Cardiology Network |
 Discuss Arteriovenous malformation further in the WikiDoc Cardiology Network |
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Arteriovenous malformation or AVM is a congenital disorder of the connections between veins and arteries in the vascular system. The genetic transmission patterns of AVM (if any) are unknown, and AVM is not generally thought to be an inherited disorder--unless in the context of a specific hereditary syndrome.
Epidemiology
An estimated 300,000 Americans have AVMs, of which 12% (approximately 36,000) will exhibit symptoms that differ greatly in severity.[1]
Pathophysiology
Arteries and veins are part of the human cardiovascular system. Normally, the arteries in the vascular system carry oxygen-rich blood at a relatively high pressure. Structurally, arteries divide and sub-divide repeatedly, eventually forming a sponge-like capillary bed. Blood moves through the capillaries, giving up oxygen and taking up waste products from the surrounding cells. Capillaries successively join together, one upon the other, to form the veins that carry blood away at a relatively low pressure. The heart acts to pump blood from the low pressure veins to the high pressure arteries.
If the capillary bed is thought of as a sponge, then an AVM is the rough equivalent of inserting a tangle of drinking straw|flexible soda straws from artery to vein through that sponge. On an arteriogram, an AVM often resemble a tangle of spaghetti noodles. This tangle of blood vessels forms a relatively direct connection between high pressure arteries and low pressure veins and bypasses the capillary bed.
The result is a collection of blood vessels with abnormal connections and no capillaries. This collection, often called a nidus, can be extremely fragile and prone to bleeding. This bleeding can be catastrophic if it occurs in the brain, the lung or the gastrointestinal tract.
Signs and symptoms
Symptoms of AVM vary according to the location of the malformation. Roughly (88% -needs citation) AVM are asymptomatic; often the malformation is discovered as part of an autopsy or during treatment of an unrelated disorder (called in medicine an incidental finding), rarely its expansion or a micro-bleed from it, could cause epilepsy, deficit or elicit pain.
The most general symptoms include headache and epilepsy, with more specific symptoms occurring that normally depend on the location of the malformation and the individual. Other possible symptoms include:[1]
- Difficulties with movement or coordination, including muscle weakness and even paralysis;
- vertigo (dizziness);
- Difficulties of speech (dysarthria) and communication, such as alogia;
- Difficulties with everyday activities, such as apraxia;
- Abnormal sensations (numbness, tingling, or spontaneous pain);
- Memory and thought-related problems, such as confusion, dementia or hallucinations.
Presentation
AVMs can occur in various parts of the body including the brain (see cerebral arteriovenous malformation), spleen, lung, kidney, spinal column, and liver. AVMs may occur in isolation or as a part of another disease (e.g. Von Hippel-Lindau disease or hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia).
This bleeding can be devastating, particularly in the brain. It can cause severe and often fatal strokes. If detected before a stroke occurs, usually the arteries feeding blood into the nidus can be closed off, ensuring the safety of the patient.
Diagnosis
AVMs can occur in various parts of the body
- brain, causing a cerebral arteriovenous malformation
- spleen[2]
- lung[3]
- kidney[4]
- spinal cord[5]
- liver[6]
- intercostal space[7]
- iris[8]
- spermatic cord[9]
AVMs may occur in isolation or as a part of another disease (e.g. Von Hippel-Lindau disease or hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia).
This bleeding can be devastating, particularly in the brain. It can cause severe and often fatal strokes. If detected before a stroke occurs, usually the arteries feeding blood into the nidus can be closed off, ensuring the safety of the patient.
Pons: Arteriovenous malformation
Brain: Arteriovenous malformation
Treatment
Treatment can be symptomatic, or it can involve surgery or radiation therapy.[1]
It can also be carried out via in interventinal radiography procedure using a glue to cut off the blood supply to the AVM.
Research directions
The optimal management of AVMs remains an ongiong topic of clinical research. [10].
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Arteriovenous Malformation Information Page at NINDS
- ↑ Agrawal A, Whitehouse R, Johnson RW, Augustine T (December 2006). "Giant splenic artery aneurysm associated with arteriovenous malformation". J. Vasc. Surg. 44 (6): 1345–9. doi:10.1016/j.jvs.2006.06.049. PMID 17145440. Retrieved on 2008-06-01.
- ↑ Chowdhury UK, Kothari SS, Bishnoi AK, Gupta R, Mittal CM, Reddy S (February 2008). "Successful Lobectomy for Pulmonary Arteriovenous Malformation Causing Recurrent Massive Haemoptysis". Heart Lung Circ. doi:10.1016/j.hlc.2007.11.142. PMID 18294908. Retrieved on 2008-06-01.
- ↑ Barley FL, Kessel D, Nicholson T, Robertson I (2006). "Selective embolization of large symptomatic iatrogenic renal transplant arteriovenous fistula". Cardiovasc Intervent Radiol 29 (6): 1084–7. doi:10.1007/s00270-005-0265-z. PMID 16794894.
- ↑ Kishi K, Shirai S, Sonomura T, Sato M (March 2005). "Selective conformal radiotherapy for arteriovenous malformation involving the spinal cord". Br J Radiol 78 (927): 252–4. PMID 15730991.
- ↑ Bauer T, Britton P, Lomas D, Wight DG, Friend PJ, Alexander GJ (May 1995). "Liver transplantation for hepatic arteriovenous malformation in hereditary haemorrhagic telangiectasia". J. Hepatol. 22 (5): 586–90. PMID 7650340. Retrieved on 2008-06-01.
- ↑ Rivera PP, Kole MK, Pelz DM, Gulka IB, McKenzie FN, Lownie SP (November 2006). "Congenital intercostal arteriovenous malformation". AJR Am J Roentgenol 187 (5): W503–6. doi:10.2214/AJR.05.0367. PMID 17056881.
- ↑ Shields JA, Streicher TF, Spirkova JH, Stubna M, Shields CL (March 2006). "Arteriovenous malformation of the iris in 14 cases". Arch. Ophthalmol. 124 (3): 370–5. doi:10.1001/archopht.124.3.370. PMID 16534057.
- ↑ Sountoulides P, Bantis A, Asouhidou I, Aggelonidou H (2007). "Arteriovenous malformation of the spermatic cord as the cause of acute scrotal pain: a case report". J Med Case Reports 1: 110. doi:10.1186/1752-1947-1-110. PMID 17939869.
- ↑ Research trials in arterio-venous malformations; Rustam Al-Shahi Salman
External links
- Information about arteriovenous malformations from the Children's Hospital, Seattle.
- avms at NINDS
- UK Support Group for AVM conditions
- behindthegray.net Subarachnoid Haemorrhage support group with forums, articles, chat and general advice.
- AVM Foundation A non-profit organization in Virginia, USA
- for intraoperative monitoring of AVM surgery
Acknowledgement and Attribution Regarding Sources of Content
Some of the initial content on this page may be incorporated in part from copyleft sources in the public domain including wikis such as Wikipedia and AskDrWiki. Drug information for patients came from the The National Library of Medicine. Infectious disease information may have come from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Differential Diagnoses are drawn from clinicians as well as an amalgamation of 3 sources: 1.The Disease Database; 2. Kahan, Scott, Smith, Ellen G. In A Page: Signs and Symptoms. Malden, Massachusetts: Blackwell Publishing, 2004:3; 3. Sailer, Christian, Wasner, Susanne. Differential Diagnosis Pocket. Hermosa Beach, CA: Borm Bruckmeir Publishing LLC, 2002:7 .
