Acute ischemic stroke due to massive arteriovenous malformation: A case report

Background and Aims : We report a case of a 76-year-old patient with ischemic stroke presentation, where cerebral imaging led to the diagnosis of a massive arteriovenous malformation (AVM) of the whole left hemisphere. We suggest considering AVM as a differential diagnosis in patients with symptoms of acute stroke despite age and, in the absence of contraindications, in this setting to obtain MRI or CT angiography of the brain.View Large Image Figure ViewerDownload Hi-res image Download (PPT)Results: An anti-epileptic therapy with levetiracetam was started and subsequently sensory as well as motor deficits and aphasia disappeared. Patient was discharged with anti-epileptic therapyConclusions: There are several descriptions of first diagnosis of AVM in younger patients. Surprisingly, in our case the patient did not show any symptoms until an advanced age despite the huge size of AVM. To our knowledge, the age of our patient combined with the expanse of the AVM are unique Background and Aims : We report a case of a 76-year-old patient with ischemic stroke presentation, where cerebral imaging led to the diagnosis of a massive arteriovenous malformation (AVM) of the whole left hemisphere. We suggest considering AVM as a differential diagnosis in patients with symptoms of acute stroke despite age and, in the absence of contraindications, in this setting to obtain MRI or CT angiography of the brain. Results: An anti-epileptic therapy with levetiracetam was started and subsequently sensory as well as motor deficits and aphasia disappeared. Patient was discharged with anti-epileptic therapy Conclusions: There are several descriptions of first diagnosis of AVM in younger patients. Surprisingly, in our case the patient did not show any symptoms until an advanced age despite the huge size of AVM. To our knowledge, the age of our patient combined with the expanse of the AVM are unique