Hemodynamic Effects of Cerebral Arteriovenous Aneurysms.

PERIPHERAL arteriovenous aneurysms cause chronic increases in cardiac work load and heart failure may result. These phenomena have been widely observed in patients1 4 and in experimental animals.0 However, there still appears to be doubt concerning the cardiovascular effects of such aneurysms when they are located above the heart.8-12 Hemodynamic measurements in eight patients with cerebral arteriovenous aneurysms have convinced us that such lesions can produce circulatory changes qualitatively similar in all respects to those caused be extracranial arteriovenous aneurysms. This report presents our observations.