Treatment of Brain Arteriovenous Malformations

Abstract

Brain arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) are abnormal connections between arteries and veins leading to arteriovenous shunting with an intervening network of vessels—the so-called nidus.¹ Brain AVM prevalence varies between 15 and 18 per 100 000 adults.² In approximately 0.05% of the population, they are incidental findings on brain magnetic resonance imaging screens.³ Their overall detection rate is 1 per 100 000 adults per year.⁴ Roughly half of patients with brain AVMs present with intracranial hemorrhage, resulting in a first-ever hemorrhage rate of 0.55 per 100 000 person-years.⁴ Little is known about the etiology of brain AVMs, but the etiology is likely to be multifactorial.⁵