WHAT IS A BRAIN AVM?
An AVM is a collection of blood vessels that are abnormal in the brain. The AVM is composed of a tangle of arteries and veins that form a clump. Arteries are the large, thick walled blood vessels that carry blood from the heart to the brain under high pressure; while veins are the softer blood vessels that carry blood back to the heart (veins can usually be seen on the back of your hand). The tangle of blood vessels that make an, AVM may be large, with the tangle web of blood vessels being several inches across, or small, perhaps the size of an olive. AVM’s are supplied by arteries that branch off of normal brain arteries. It can be visualized as a branch on a tree that goes to a bad portion of the tree. Typically there are one to four arteries that supply an AVM, occasionally more. These arteries can be blocked off or removed at surgery safely because they supply only the AVM, not the normal brain. HOW DID I GET AN AVM? We think most patients are born with their AVM, like a birthmark.
