Diagnosis

Because you're unlikely to have symptoms of intracranial venous malformations, your doctor might find that you have the condition during testing for other neurological concerns.

You might undergo these imaging tests to diagnose other neurological conditions:

• CT scan. A CT scan creates a series of X-rays to create detailed, cross-sectional images of your blood vessels and your brain. In some cases, dye is injected into a vein to assess the brain tissue or the blood vessels in greater detail (CT angiogram or CT venogram).
• MRI. Magnetic and radio waves create detailed 3-D images of your blood vessels and brain. In some cases a contrast dye is injected into a vein to look at the brain tissue in a different way, and to evaluate your blood vessels (magnetic resonance angiography or magnetic resonance venography).