Sign-in to Ask A Doctor - 24x7
OR
Sign in with Google
Hi There, I Wanted To Ask A Question About Pulsating
Question: Hi there,
i wanted to ask a question about pulsating in a spot on my head. Its on the left side. Im not worried about tumor, i had an MRI 1 year ago and it was clear. But there was no contrast used. Im wondering should i be worried about a vein in my brain about to burst. It is not painful, and happened once 3 months ago and again recently. Only lasts about 15 mins. And there is no sensitivity on my scalp.
Reagrds
XXXXXXX
i wanted to ask a question about pulsating in a spot on my head. Its on the left side. Im not worried about tumor, i had an MRI 1 year ago and it was clear. But there was no contrast used. Im wondering should i be worried about a vein in my brain about to burst. It is not painful, and happened once 3 months ago and again recently. Only lasts about 15 mins. And there is no sensitivity on my scalp.
Reagrds
XXXXXXX
Hi there,
i wanted to ask a question about pulsating in a spot on my head. Its on the left side. Im not worried about tumor, i had an MRI 1 year ago and it was clear. But there was no contrast used. Im wondering should i be worried about a vein in my brain about to burst. It is not painful, and happened once 3 months ago and again recently. Only lasts about 15 mins. And there is no sensitivity on my scalp.
Reagrds
XXXXXXX
i wanted to ask a question about pulsating in a spot on my head. Its on the left side. Im not worried about tumor, i had an MRI 1 year ago and it was clear. But there was no contrast used. Im wondering should i be worried about a vein in my brain about to burst. It is not painful, and happened once 3 months ago and again recently. Only lasts about 15 mins. And there is no sensitivity on my scalp.
Reagrds
XXXXXXX
Brief Answer:
Vein INSIDE brain cannot be felt on the scalp or head anywhere
Detailed Answer:
Good morning and thank you for your question.
In short? The noggin's just too hard to feel anything pulsating through the skull table having to do with arteries, veins, or any other pulsatile element having to do with brain circulation....now let's examine this a bit further, shall we?
An MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) study of the brain is typically obtained without contrast in situations where general architectural features are sought and to rule out congenital anomalies such pineal cysts, subarachnoid cysts, neuronal migration abnormalities, etc. You obviously have none of these things. We also use MRI's without contrast to rule out the presence of mass lesions such as tumors if we are looking mainly for BIG things that would not need any contrast agent to stand out and would be evident just by "looking" with the naked eye...so to speak.
We've become more conservative over the last several years in the use of contrast agents (gadolinium) since it's become apparent that there can be complications (especially to the kidneys) in some people who are particularly sensitive or allergic and may not even be aware. And so an MRI in general is very good for all these types of things, ARCHITECTURE of the BRAIN and its associated structures. And BTW, in case you were curious an MRI can "see" things all the way down to about 1 mm. in size which is about 10x better than a CT scan can do so it's a very good screener to use if a doctor or patient were particularly worried about some type of tumor for any reason.
What an MRI study is not nearly as good at seeing are BLOOD VESSELS that come into and perfuse the brain substance. There is a better test for looking at the blood vessels themselves and that's called an MRA (Magnetic Resonance Angiography). The machine is the identical one used to get an MRI study and the technology used to acquire the images from the person is exactly the same. You still have the head cage that goes around, you are still strapped in, they place your entire body into the device, and there is still the same BANGING and CLANGING noises that you have to listen to (despite music and earplugs) that goes when the magnets are turned on and off). The difference is that when the images are acquired there is a WINDOWING effect applied to the organ being imaged (the brain) such that all of the tissue and other substances of the brain or in the brain can be FILTERED or MASKED out of the final image that is constructed by the computer leaving behind only the blood vessels which are nicely traced out by virtue of the BLOOD THAT IS COURSING through them......get the "PICTURE?"
If we were particularly interested in looking for things such as ANEURYSMS, VASCULAR MALFORMATIONS (AVM's), FISTULA formations, ANGIOMAS, or any number of other VASCULAR structures/defects, etc. the MRA would be the test of choice. And also, there would almost NEVER be a reason to use gadolinium contrast for such a screening study so it really shouldn't be used unless the radiologist has a very specific need and they'll usually talk to the ordering physician about it when the order is received. Otherwise, gadolinium for routine MRA's should not be routinely used.
Having said all of the previously mentioned information a good neuroradiographer can also look at an MRI study and get a pretty good idea of what the blood vessels look like by noticing things called FLOW VOIDS which are spaces (usually black in color on the film) that represent where blood vessels are traveling and so even though the picture is not quite as "pretty" or EVIDENT as it is on an MRA study which shows ONLY blood vessels layered out of the bowl of jello in the head....they can still reconstruct the flow voids in their mind's eye and even pick up on abnormalities such as aneurysms, AVM's, etc. or at least have a suspicion that something may be up which usually prompts a message, phone call, or even reported finding on the MRI report that will specify the vascular abnormality and suggest that further testing be considered.
Most physicians would probably at least call the radiologist back or get another opinion on the read and the film from either a neurologist or neurosurgeon to gauge the necessity of doing another study to focus on the MRA portion of things.
In your case it sounds as if everything in the scan looked fine and nothing was amiss in terms of the architecture of the brain. Also, it doesn't seem like the radiologist saw anything that was particularly worrisome regarding your vasculature inside the SKULL coursing in and around the brain. Which segues us beautifully into your QUESTION! LOL...finally, right?
Because the vasculature of the brain (arteries, veins, lymphatic drainage, etc.) is fully housed and compartmentalized INSIDE THE SKULL and/or enters from DEEP within the brain itself if you're a drop of blood traveling up into the head from either the carotid or vertebral arteries THEN, all the blood vessels which include any PATHOLOGICAL finds such as ANEURYSMS, AVM'S, ANGIOMAS, etc. would also be housed inside the brain and more importantly for our discussion WITHIN THE INNER TABLE OF THE SKULL.
A pulsation that is felt over the surface of the scalp or other part of the head is UNRELATED to any blood vessel feeding the brain and would have to be one OUTSIDE the brain and inside the soft tissues overlying the scalp. And so, for those reasons you should have NO WORRIES about any blood vessel popping in your brain because of what you feel upon your scalp. BTW, it's a common thing that people say when they talk about blood vessel ruptures having to do with aneursyms, etc. and I think it's fascinating that somehow so many people think the same way....but it is never a VEIN that "pops" when talking about a brain bleed, or an aneurysmal burst....it's always an ARTERY that is under discussion. Veins (anywhere in the body) are always the lowest pressure blood vessels and therefore, even in a person who may be wildly HYPERTENSIVE or out of control with their blood pressure popping veins in the head simply never occurs. Arterial bursts are a different story and those occur due to the development of aneurysms that under high pressure can dissect, tear, or burst.
But no matter what, the pulsations you're feeling on the scalp would still not be any representation of or heralding sign of an ARTERIAL ANEURYSM or dissection that is impending or could rupture. This is not to say that the pulsation you're feeling on your head is not that of some blood vessel because in fact, it probably is.....unless it is a small cyst that is simply vibrating to the pulsations in your body from your heart beating, etc. However, it's not a vascular element of the brain and under no circumstance would lead to anything happening to the brain itself....everything good there! :)
BTW, I didn't even tell you about being able to image VEINS! LOL! Yep, there is such a thing as, you guessed, an MRV (Magnetic Resonance Venography) which will give you a picture of the VEINS in the and about the brain.....and I guarantee you that NONE of them can be felt on top of the head.
And so you can see what I mean with these things here are a couple of links that show some nice images.
First is an MRI of the brain.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnetic_resonance_imaging_of_the_brain#/media/File:MRI_Head_Brain_Normal.jpg
Next is an MRA of the blood vessels feeding the brain.
https://prod-images.static.radiopaedia.org/images/0000/efbc20ff15c2c9efaaf2e216d41a4d.jpg
If I've provided useful or helpful information to your questions could you do me the utmost of favors in CLOSING THE QUERY along with a few positive words of feedback and maybe even a 5-star rating if you feel it is deserving? I am definitely interested in getting updated information if you'd care to drop me a line at www.bit.ly/drdariushsaghafi as to how you're feeling down the road and how things turn out.
You can always reach me at the above address for this and other questions. I wish you the best with everything and hope our discussion has aided in your understanding of a few concepts related to your concerns and given you a better direction as to which way a conversation would best be had with your doctor if you feel a discussion needs to take place based on what I've written.
Cheers Miss XXXXXXX ...wishin' you the best Down Under.
This query required 59 minutes of professional time to research, assimilate, and file a response.
Vein INSIDE brain cannot be felt on the scalp or head anywhere
Detailed Answer:
Good morning and thank you for your question.
In short? The noggin's just too hard to feel anything pulsating through the skull table having to do with arteries, veins, or any other pulsatile element having to do with brain circulation....now let's examine this a bit further, shall we?
An MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) study of the brain is typically obtained without contrast in situations where general architectural features are sought and to rule out congenital anomalies such pineal cysts, subarachnoid cysts, neuronal migration abnormalities, etc. You obviously have none of these things. We also use MRI's without contrast to rule out the presence of mass lesions such as tumors if we are looking mainly for BIG things that would not need any contrast agent to stand out and would be evident just by "looking" with the naked eye...so to speak.
We've become more conservative over the last several years in the use of contrast agents (gadolinium) since it's become apparent that there can be complications (especially to the kidneys) in some people who are particularly sensitive or allergic and may not even be aware. And so an MRI in general is very good for all these types of things, ARCHITECTURE of the BRAIN and its associated structures. And BTW, in case you were curious an MRI can "see" things all the way down to about 1 mm. in size which is about 10x better than a CT scan can do so it's a very good screener to use if a doctor or patient were particularly worried about some type of tumor for any reason.
What an MRI study is not nearly as good at seeing are BLOOD VESSELS that come into and perfuse the brain substance. There is a better test for looking at the blood vessels themselves and that's called an MRA (Magnetic Resonance Angiography). The machine is the identical one used to get an MRI study and the technology used to acquire the images from the person is exactly the same. You still have the head cage that goes around, you are still strapped in, they place your entire body into the device, and there is still the same BANGING and CLANGING noises that you have to listen to (despite music and earplugs) that goes when the magnets are turned on and off). The difference is that when the images are acquired there is a WINDOWING effect applied to the organ being imaged (the brain) such that all of the tissue and other substances of the brain or in the brain can be FILTERED or MASKED out of the final image that is constructed by the computer leaving behind only the blood vessels which are nicely traced out by virtue of the BLOOD THAT IS COURSING through them......get the "PICTURE?"
If we were particularly interested in looking for things such as ANEURYSMS, VASCULAR MALFORMATIONS (AVM's), FISTULA formations, ANGIOMAS, or any number of other VASCULAR structures/defects, etc. the MRA would be the test of choice. And also, there would almost NEVER be a reason to use gadolinium contrast for such a screening study so it really shouldn't be used unless the radiologist has a very specific need and they'll usually talk to the ordering physician about it when the order is received. Otherwise, gadolinium for routine MRA's should not be routinely used.
Having said all of the previously mentioned information a good neuroradiographer can also look at an MRI study and get a pretty good idea of what the blood vessels look like by noticing things called FLOW VOIDS which are spaces (usually black in color on the film) that represent where blood vessels are traveling and so even though the picture is not quite as "pretty" or EVIDENT as it is on an MRA study which shows ONLY blood vessels layered out of the bowl of jello in the head....they can still reconstruct the flow voids in their mind's eye and even pick up on abnormalities such as aneurysms, AVM's, etc. or at least have a suspicion that something may be up which usually prompts a message, phone call, or even reported finding on the MRI report that will specify the vascular abnormality and suggest that further testing be considered.
Most physicians would probably at least call the radiologist back or get another opinion on the read and the film from either a neurologist or neurosurgeon to gauge the necessity of doing another study to focus on the MRA portion of things.
In your case it sounds as if everything in the scan looked fine and nothing was amiss in terms of the architecture of the brain. Also, it doesn't seem like the radiologist saw anything that was particularly worrisome regarding your vasculature inside the SKULL coursing in and around the brain. Which segues us beautifully into your QUESTION! LOL...finally, right?
Because the vasculature of the brain (arteries, veins, lymphatic drainage, etc.) is fully housed and compartmentalized INSIDE THE SKULL and/or enters from DEEP within the brain itself if you're a drop of blood traveling up into the head from either the carotid or vertebral arteries THEN, all the blood vessels which include any PATHOLOGICAL finds such as ANEURYSMS, AVM'S, ANGIOMAS, etc. would also be housed inside the brain and more importantly for our discussion WITHIN THE INNER TABLE OF THE SKULL.
A pulsation that is felt over the surface of the scalp or other part of the head is UNRELATED to any blood vessel feeding the brain and would have to be one OUTSIDE the brain and inside the soft tissues overlying the scalp. And so, for those reasons you should have NO WORRIES about any blood vessel popping in your brain because of what you feel upon your scalp. BTW, it's a common thing that people say when they talk about blood vessel ruptures having to do with aneursyms, etc. and I think it's fascinating that somehow so many people think the same way....but it is never a VEIN that "pops" when talking about a brain bleed, or an aneurysmal burst....it's always an ARTERY that is under discussion. Veins (anywhere in the body) are always the lowest pressure blood vessels and therefore, even in a person who may be wildly HYPERTENSIVE or out of control with their blood pressure popping veins in the head simply never occurs. Arterial bursts are a different story and those occur due to the development of aneurysms that under high pressure can dissect, tear, or burst.
But no matter what, the pulsations you're feeling on the scalp would still not be any representation of or heralding sign of an ARTERIAL ANEURYSM or dissection that is impending or could rupture. This is not to say that the pulsation you're feeling on your head is not that of some blood vessel because in fact, it probably is.....unless it is a small cyst that is simply vibrating to the pulsations in your body from your heart beating, etc. However, it's not a vascular element of the brain and under no circumstance would lead to anything happening to the brain itself....everything good there! :)
BTW, I didn't even tell you about being able to image VEINS! LOL! Yep, there is such a thing as, you guessed, an MRV (Magnetic Resonance Venography) which will give you a picture of the VEINS in the and about the brain.....and I guarantee you that NONE of them can be felt on top of the head.
And so you can see what I mean with these things here are a couple of links that show some nice images.
First is an MRI of the brain.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnetic_resonance_imaging_of_the_brain#/media/File:MRI_Head_Brain_Normal.jpg
Next is an MRA of the blood vessels feeding the brain.
https://prod-images.static.radiopaedia.org/images/0000/efbc20ff15c2c9efaaf2e216d41a4d.jpg
If I've provided useful or helpful information to your questions could you do me the utmost of favors in CLOSING THE QUERY along with a few positive words of feedback and maybe even a 5-star rating if you feel it is deserving? I am definitely interested in getting updated information if you'd care to drop me a line at www.bit.ly/drdariushsaghafi as to how you're feeling down the road and how things turn out.
You can always reach me at the above address for this and other questions. I wish you the best with everything and hope our discussion has aided in your understanding of a few concepts related to your concerns and given you a better direction as to which way a conversation would best be had with your doctor if you feel a discussion needs to take place based on what I've written.
Cheers Miss XXXXXXX ...wishin' you the best Down Under.
This query required 59 minutes of professional time to research, assimilate, and file a response.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Brief Answer:
Vein INSIDE brain cannot be felt on the scalp or head anywhere
Detailed Answer:
Good morning and thank you for your question.
In short? The noggin's just too hard to feel anything pulsating through the skull table having to do with arteries, veins, or any other pulsatile element having to do with brain circulation....now let's examine this a bit further, shall we?
An MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) study of the brain is typically obtained without contrast in situations where general architectural features are sought and to rule out congenital anomalies such pineal cysts, subarachnoid cysts, neuronal migration abnormalities, etc. You obviously have none of these things. We also use MRI's without contrast to rule out the presence of mass lesions such as tumors if we are looking mainly for BIG things that would not need any contrast agent to stand out and would be evident just by "looking" with the naked eye...so to speak.
We've become more conservative over the last several years in the use of contrast agents (gadolinium) since it's become apparent that there can be complications (especially to the kidneys) in some people who are particularly sensitive or allergic and may not even be aware. And so an MRI in general is very good for all these types of things, ARCHITECTURE of the BRAIN and its associated structures. And BTW, in case you were curious an MRI can "see" things all the way down to about 1 mm. in size which is about 10x better than a CT scan can do so it's a very good screener to use if a doctor or patient were particularly worried about some type of tumor for any reason.
What an MRI study is not nearly as good at seeing are BLOOD VESSELS that come into and perfuse the brain substance. There is a better test for looking at the blood vessels themselves and that's called an MRA (Magnetic Resonance Angiography). The machine is the identical one used to get an MRI study and the technology used to acquire the images from the person is exactly the same. You still have the head cage that goes around, you are still strapped in, they place your entire body into the device, and there is still the same BANGING and CLANGING noises that you have to listen to (despite music and earplugs) that goes when the magnets are turned on and off). The difference is that when the images are acquired there is a WINDOWING effect applied to the organ being imaged (the brain) such that all of the tissue and other substances of the brain or in the brain can be FILTERED or MASKED out of the final image that is constructed by the computer leaving behind only the blood vessels which are nicely traced out by virtue of the BLOOD THAT IS COURSING through them......get the "PICTURE?"
If we were particularly interested in looking for things such as ANEURYSMS, VASCULAR MALFORMATIONS (AVM's), FISTULA formations, ANGIOMAS, or any number of other VASCULAR structures/defects, etc. the MRA would be the test of choice. And also, there would almost NEVER be a reason to use gadolinium contrast for such a screening study so it really shouldn't be used unless the radiologist has a very specific need and they'll usually talk to the ordering physician about it when the order is received. Otherwise, gadolinium for routine MRA's should not be routinely used.
Having said all of the previously mentioned information a good neuroradiographer can also look at an MRI study and get a pretty good idea of what the blood vessels look like by noticing things called FLOW VOIDS which are spaces (usually black in color on the film) that represent where blood vessels are traveling and so even though the picture is not quite as "pretty" or EVIDENT as it is on an MRA study which shows ONLY blood vessels layered out of the bowl of jello in the head....they can still reconstruct the flow voids in their mind's eye and even pick up on abnormalities such as aneurysms, AVM's, etc. or at least have a suspicion that something may be up which usually prompts a message, phone call, or even reported finding on the MRI report that will specify the vascular abnormality and suggest that further testing be considered.
Most physicians would probably at least call the radiologist back or get another opinion on the read and the film from either a neurologist or neurosurgeon to gauge the necessity of doing another study to focus on the MRA portion of things.
In your case it sounds as if everything in the scan looked fine and nothing was amiss in terms of the architecture of the brain. Also, it doesn't seem like the radiologist saw anything that was particularly worrisome regarding your vasculature inside the SKULL coursing in and around the brain. Which segues us beautifully into your QUESTION! LOL...finally, right?
Because the vasculature of the brain (arteries, veins, lymphatic drainage, etc.) is fully housed and compartmentalized INSIDE THE SKULL and/or enters from DEEP within the brain itself if you're a drop of blood traveling up into the head from either the carotid or vertebral arteries THEN, all the blood vessels which include any PATHOLOGICAL finds such as ANEURYSMS, AVM'S, ANGIOMAS, etc. would also be housed inside the brain and more importantly for our discussion WITHIN THE INNER TABLE OF THE SKULL.
A pulsation that is felt over the surface of the scalp or other part of the head is UNRELATED to any blood vessel feeding the brain and would have to be one OUTSIDE the brain and inside the soft tissues overlying the scalp. And so, for those reasons you should have NO WORRIES about any blood vessel popping in your brain because of what you feel upon your scalp. BTW, it's a common thing that people say when they talk about blood vessel ruptures having to do with aneursyms, etc. and I think it's fascinating that somehow so many people think the same way....but it is never a VEIN that "pops" when talking about a brain bleed, or an aneurysmal burst....it's always an ARTERY that is under discussion. Veins (anywhere in the body) are always the lowest pressure blood vessels and therefore, even in a person who may be wildly HYPERTENSIVE or out of control with their blood pressure popping veins in the head simply never occurs. Arterial bursts are a different story and those occur due to the development of aneurysms that under high pressure can dissect, tear, or burst.
But no matter what, the pulsations you're feeling on the scalp would still not be any representation of or heralding sign of an ARTERIAL ANEURYSM or dissection that is impending or could rupture. This is not to say that the pulsation you're feeling on your head is not that of some blood vessel because in fact, it probably is.....unless it is a small cyst that is simply vibrating to the pulsations in your body from your heart beating, etc. However, it's not a vascular element of the brain and under no circumstance would lead to anything happening to the brain itself....everything good there! :)
BTW, I didn't even tell you about being able to image VEINS! LOL! Yep, there is such a thing as, you guessed, an MRV (Magnetic Resonance Venography) which will give you a picture of the VEINS in the and about the brain.....and I guarantee you that NONE of them can be felt on top of the head.
And so you can see what I mean with these things here are a couple of links that show some nice images.
First is an MRI of the brain.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnetic_resonance_imaging_of_the_brain#/media/File:MRI_Head_Brain_Normal.jpg
Next is an MRA of the blood vessels feeding the brain.
https://prod-images.static.radiopaedia.org/images/0000/efbc20ff15c2c9efaaf2e216d41a4d.jpg
If I've provided useful or helpful information to your questions could you do me the utmost of favors in CLOSING THE QUERY along with a few positive words of feedback and maybe even a 5-star rating if you feel it is deserving? I am definitely interested in getting updated information if you'd care to drop me a line at www.bit.ly/drdariushsaghafi as to how you're feeling down the road and how things turn out.
You can always reach me at the above address for this and other questions. I wish you the best with everything and hope our discussion has aided in your understanding of a few concepts related to your concerns and given you a better direction as to which way a conversation would best be had with your doctor if you feel a discussion needs to take place based on what I've written.
Cheers Miss XXXXXXX ...wishin' you the best Down Under.
This query required 59 minutes of professional time to research, assimilate, and file a response.
Vein INSIDE brain cannot be felt on the scalp or head anywhere
Detailed Answer:
Good morning and thank you for your question.
In short? The noggin's just too hard to feel anything pulsating through the skull table having to do with arteries, veins, or any other pulsatile element having to do with brain circulation....now let's examine this a bit further, shall we?
An MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) study of the brain is typically obtained without contrast in situations where general architectural features are sought and to rule out congenital anomalies such pineal cysts, subarachnoid cysts, neuronal migration abnormalities, etc. You obviously have none of these things. We also use MRI's without contrast to rule out the presence of mass lesions such as tumors if we are looking mainly for BIG things that would not need any contrast agent to stand out and would be evident just by "looking" with the naked eye...so to speak.
We've become more conservative over the last several years in the use of contrast agents (gadolinium) since it's become apparent that there can be complications (especially to the kidneys) in some people who are particularly sensitive or allergic and may not even be aware. And so an MRI in general is very good for all these types of things, ARCHITECTURE of the BRAIN and its associated structures. And BTW, in case you were curious an MRI can "see" things all the way down to about 1 mm. in size which is about 10x better than a CT scan can do so it's a very good screener to use if a doctor or patient were particularly worried about some type of tumor for any reason.
What an MRI study is not nearly as good at seeing are BLOOD VESSELS that come into and perfuse the brain substance. There is a better test for looking at the blood vessels themselves and that's called an MRA (Magnetic Resonance Angiography). The machine is the identical one used to get an MRI study and the technology used to acquire the images from the person is exactly the same. You still have the head cage that goes around, you are still strapped in, they place your entire body into the device, and there is still the same BANGING and CLANGING noises that you have to listen to (despite music and earplugs) that goes when the magnets are turned on and off). The difference is that when the images are acquired there is a WINDOWING effect applied to the organ being imaged (the brain) such that all of the tissue and other substances of the brain or in the brain can be FILTERED or MASKED out of the final image that is constructed by the computer leaving behind only the blood vessels which are nicely traced out by virtue of the BLOOD THAT IS COURSING through them......get the "PICTURE?"
If we were particularly interested in looking for things such as ANEURYSMS, VASCULAR MALFORMATIONS (AVM's), FISTULA formations, ANGIOMAS, or any number of other VASCULAR structures/defects, etc. the MRA would be the test of choice. And also, there would almost NEVER be a reason to use gadolinium contrast for such a screening study so it really shouldn't be used unless the radiologist has a very specific need and they'll usually talk to the ordering physician about it when the order is received. Otherwise, gadolinium for routine MRA's should not be routinely used.
Having said all of the previously mentioned information a good neuroradiographer can also look at an MRI study and get a pretty good idea of what the blood vessels look like by noticing things called FLOW VOIDS which are spaces (usually black in color on the film) that represent where blood vessels are traveling and so even though the picture is not quite as "pretty" or EVIDENT as it is on an MRA study which shows ONLY blood vessels layered out of the bowl of jello in the head....they can still reconstruct the flow voids in their mind's eye and even pick up on abnormalities such as aneurysms, AVM's, etc. or at least have a suspicion that something may be up which usually prompts a message, phone call, or even reported finding on the MRI report that will specify the vascular abnormality and suggest that further testing be considered.
Most physicians would probably at least call the radiologist back or get another opinion on the read and the film from either a neurologist or neurosurgeon to gauge the necessity of doing another study to focus on the MRA portion of things.
In your case it sounds as if everything in the scan looked fine and nothing was amiss in terms of the architecture of the brain. Also, it doesn't seem like the radiologist saw anything that was particularly worrisome regarding your vasculature inside the SKULL coursing in and around the brain. Which segues us beautifully into your QUESTION! LOL...finally, right?
Because the vasculature of the brain (arteries, veins, lymphatic drainage, etc.) is fully housed and compartmentalized INSIDE THE SKULL and/or enters from DEEP within the brain itself if you're a drop of blood traveling up into the head from either the carotid or vertebral arteries THEN, all the blood vessels which include any PATHOLOGICAL finds such as ANEURYSMS, AVM'S, ANGIOMAS, etc. would also be housed inside the brain and more importantly for our discussion WITHIN THE INNER TABLE OF THE SKULL.
A pulsation that is felt over the surface of the scalp or other part of the head is UNRELATED to any blood vessel feeding the brain and would have to be one OUTSIDE the brain and inside the soft tissues overlying the scalp. And so, for those reasons you should have NO WORRIES about any blood vessel popping in your brain because of what you feel upon your scalp. BTW, it's a common thing that people say when they talk about blood vessel ruptures having to do with aneursyms, etc. and I think it's fascinating that somehow so many people think the same way....but it is never a VEIN that "pops" when talking about a brain bleed, or an aneurysmal burst....it's always an ARTERY that is under discussion. Veins (anywhere in the body) are always the lowest pressure blood vessels and therefore, even in a person who may be wildly HYPERTENSIVE or out of control with their blood pressure popping veins in the head simply never occurs. Arterial bursts are a different story and those occur due to the development of aneurysms that under high pressure can dissect, tear, or burst.
But no matter what, the pulsations you're feeling on the scalp would still not be any representation of or heralding sign of an ARTERIAL ANEURYSM or dissection that is impending or could rupture. This is not to say that the pulsation you're feeling on your head is not that of some blood vessel because in fact, it probably is.....unless it is a small cyst that is simply vibrating to the pulsations in your body from your heart beating, etc. However, it's not a vascular element of the brain and under no circumstance would lead to anything happening to the brain itself....everything good there! :)
BTW, I didn't even tell you about being able to image VEINS! LOL! Yep, there is such a thing as, you guessed, an MRV (Magnetic Resonance Venography) which will give you a picture of the VEINS in the and about the brain.....and I guarantee you that NONE of them can be felt on top of the head.
And so you can see what I mean with these things here are a couple of links that show some nice images.
First is an MRI of the brain.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnetic_resonance_imaging_of_the_brain#/media/File:MRI_Head_Brain_Normal.jpg
Next is an MRA of the blood vessels feeding the brain.
https://prod-images.static.radiopaedia.org/images/0000/efbc20ff15c2c9efaaf2e216d41a4d.jpg
If I've provided useful or helpful information to your questions could you do me the utmost of favors in CLOSING THE QUERY along with a few positive words of feedback and maybe even a 5-star rating if you feel it is deserving? I am definitely interested in getting updated information if you'd care to drop me a line at www.bit.ly/drdariushsaghafi as to how you're feeling down the road and how things turn out.
You can always reach me at the above address for this and other questions. I wish you the best with everything and hope our discussion has aided in your understanding of a few concepts related to your concerns and given you a better direction as to which way a conversation would best be had with your doctor if you feel a discussion needs to take place based on what I've written.
Cheers Miss XXXXXXX ...wishin' you the best Down Under.
This query required 59 minutes of professional time to research, assimilate, and file a response.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Hi doctor, thanks for your answer its been very helpful. Maybe i wasnt too clear in my message that the pulsating feels like its inside my head on a spot the left side. Not sire if that changes whether i should get it looked at or not.
Regards
XXXXXXX
Regards
XXXXXXX
Hi doctor, thanks for your answer its been very helpful. Maybe i wasnt too clear in my message that the pulsating feels like its inside my head on a spot the left side. Not sire if that changes whether i should get it looked at or not.
Regards
XXXXXXX
Regards
XXXXXXX
Brief Answer:
Benign pulsations in the head can be safely monitored at this time
Detailed Answer:
Greetings again Miss Julia-
So sorry that I misunderstood your question. You are referring to a pulsing sensation WITHIN the head at a certain spot....gotcha now.
So, let's REWIND that whole discussion that I put up and try again. Of course, if you EVER have pulsations ON your head....you've got some beautiful pictures to refer to and a roadmap of the arterial supply of the scalp....which also means a phlebotomist could take blood from up there too if they're having trouble getting it out of your arm! LOL...
You've had 2 episodes of this...once 3 months ago and the second more recently...duration 15 min. or thereabouts, painless, no scalp sensitivity associated and no other symptoms to report...location left side.
All that information still doesn't move me to feel the necessity to image your brain for the following reasons. The brain itself pulses and we are totally unaware of that...I'm sure that's not hard for you to believe. It pulses to the rhythm of the heart since there is a blood supply (a pretty big supply at that) that moves in and out of the brain with every beat of the heart. There is also cerebrospinal fluid that also has a pulsing activity flowing through system of channels and "caves" called VENTRICLES that is also very closely synchronized to the pulse wave generated by the heart. All of that movement is totally imperceptible to the individual. However, once in a while things happen and we exert ourselves physically with exercise or get emotionally charged or excited for good and bad reasons and of course, the heart starts racing or it just starts pounding more forcefully without necessarily getting a whole lot faster. That's going to now make pulse waves within the arteries in and around the brain more likely to swell and throb which we can now start the feel.
The most common places for us to feel this increase in activity and pressure are in the temples of the head. The temporal arteries are pretty superficial at that point and quite palpable and so perceiving that throb is not hard to do at all. Sometimes both temples can pulse at once or maybe just one side. It's usually always the same side that one can feel because there is always a dominance of flow in stereotyped situations due to the directions of the vessels, the posture of the body, etc. Again, these are normal occurrences and probably just about everybody has experienced this phenomenon without thinking too much about it at some point during their lives (young and old alike).
Then, there are pulsations such as you describe which can be felt that are not necessarily in those "common" places. This one is on the left, deeper within the skull and you feel the beat. Same principles apply of why you're able to feel that sensation. If it's painless and doesn't come with any other symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, sensitivity to light, sound, vertigo or dizziness, then, it could simply be due to a rise in blood pressure that for some reason is being felt in that location as blood is coming up from the carotid artery system. Turbulent flow of blood can cause this type of pulsation. If we are talking about a person of a more advanced age (I don't know how YOUNG you are.. :) ) then, that pulsation could be indicative of a little buildup of atherosclerotic plaque causing some changes to the usual nice and smooth laminar flow of the fluid which then, a bit magnified with increased speed of the blood or increased pressure. Everyone gets a little calcification and little plaque in their arteries as they age so again, the presence of this pulsation doesn't really call for significant investigations or imaging studies.
The pulsation you are feeling could also not be directly tied to any direct increases in blood pressure or blood flow but it could also be a change in the INTRACRANIAL PRESSURE that you are feeling and this can sometimes be altered simply on a person's breathing pattern as we inhale and exhale and either blow off or retain more carbon dioxide (CO2). Or there could a slight or temporary slow down of fluid EXITING the BRAIN, or the fluid that is SURROUNDING the brain and going through the ventricles for any number of reasons due to physiological or anatomical considerations. Again, nothing that we would go and get imaging studies for necessarily with the symptoms you're describing.
Rare and serious brain disorders including vessels (arteries, not veins...from our previous discussion) would typically give us a different constellation of symptoms to recognize if something were on the verge of going wrong in a bad way.
In your particular case my dear....here's what I would do. If this is of particular concern to you or if this pulsation starts to come on more frequently or last for longer duration and you can't really identify any of the physiological accompanying features I mentioned such as increased exercise, anxiety, emotional changes, stage fright...etc. then, I might start keeping a journal of what you're noticing and just do a SELFIE analysis and write it down...anything you can say about what you feel would be helpful..not just to yourself but to ME or any other doctor you might go to as well. (Wanna see XXXXXXX OHIO? LOLOLOL). Keep track of things such as location, intensity of pulsation (scale of 1-10 with 10 being REALLY MAXIMAL and 1 being barely perceptible), describe the circumstances that have been going on over the past 1-2 hrs. before the pulsation began, etc.
Other things important to tell any doctor you may go to in the future is if there would be any SOUNDS that you could hear along with this pulsation (whooshing noises mainly), if anything seems close to the ear or not, whether you have a family history of anybody who has aneurysms anywhere in their body and certainly if anyone's been diagnosed with intracranial aneurysms, if you've started or changed medications for any reason, things like that. Make sense? All of that information will be very helpful for a good neurologist or even primary doctor to examine you thoroughly and decide whether or not imaging studies were required. I will tell you as a NEUROLOGIST that if there were any imaging studies of the head to get for a problem like this...my preference would be the MRI and MRA.....I would not choose the MRV (though I mentioned it before just for completeness sake). NOR would I order the study(ies) with gadolinium contrast.
Again, I'm sorry I missed the boat on this question.....please forgive and hope I can earn a bit better with you in the future by reading things more carefully and ASKING questions myself if it's not clear....TAKE MY OWN ADVICE I give to patients! HA!
I'd love to stay in the loop if this evolves to any extent if you'd care to drop me a line at www.bit.ly/drdariushsaghafi and keep me up to date.
Once again, my belief is that things will be just fine for you young lady...(no matter what you put down for your age!) HA!
Cheers Miss XXXXXXX ...wishin' you the best as you start to head into your fall season over there, right? Thank goodness! We just about had it with the ridiculous weather changes up here...I want to peel some layers already! :0
This query required a total of 118 minutes of professional time to research, assimilate, and file a response.
Benign pulsations in the head can be safely monitored at this time
Detailed Answer:
Greetings again Miss Julia-
So sorry that I misunderstood your question. You are referring to a pulsing sensation WITHIN the head at a certain spot....gotcha now.
So, let's REWIND that whole discussion that I put up and try again. Of course, if you EVER have pulsations ON your head....you've got some beautiful pictures to refer to and a roadmap of the arterial supply of the scalp....which also means a phlebotomist could take blood from up there too if they're having trouble getting it out of your arm! LOL...
You've had 2 episodes of this...once 3 months ago and the second more recently...duration 15 min. or thereabouts, painless, no scalp sensitivity associated and no other symptoms to report...location left side.
All that information still doesn't move me to feel the necessity to image your brain for the following reasons. The brain itself pulses and we are totally unaware of that...I'm sure that's not hard for you to believe. It pulses to the rhythm of the heart since there is a blood supply (a pretty big supply at that) that moves in and out of the brain with every beat of the heart. There is also cerebrospinal fluid that also has a pulsing activity flowing through system of channels and "caves" called VENTRICLES that is also very closely synchronized to the pulse wave generated by the heart. All of that movement is totally imperceptible to the individual. However, once in a while things happen and we exert ourselves physically with exercise or get emotionally charged or excited for good and bad reasons and of course, the heart starts racing or it just starts pounding more forcefully without necessarily getting a whole lot faster. That's going to now make pulse waves within the arteries in and around the brain more likely to swell and throb which we can now start the feel.
The most common places for us to feel this increase in activity and pressure are in the temples of the head. The temporal arteries are pretty superficial at that point and quite palpable and so perceiving that throb is not hard to do at all. Sometimes both temples can pulse at once or maybe just one side. It's usually always the same side that one can feel because there is always a dominance of flow in stereotyped situations due to the directions of the vessels, the posture of the body, etc. Again, these are normal occurrences and probably just about everybody has experienced this phenomenon without thinking too much about it at some point during their lives (young and old alike).
Then, there are pulsations such as you describe which can be felt that are not necessarily in those "common" places. This one is on the left, deeper within the skull and you feel the beat. Same principles apply of why you're able to feel that sensation. If it's painless and doesn't come with any other symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, sensitivity to light, sound, vertigo or dizziness, then, it could simply be due to a rise in blood pressure that for some reason is being felt in that location as blood is coming up from the carotid artery system. Turbulent flow of blood can cause this type of pulsation. If we are talking about a person of a more advanced age (I don't know how YOUNG you are.. :) ) then, that pulsation could be indicative of a little buildup of atherosclerotic plaque causing some changes to the usual nice and smooth laminar flow of the fluid which then, a bit magnified with increased speed of the blood or increased pressure. Everyone gets a little calcification and little plaque in their arteries as they age so again, the presence of this pulsation doesn't really call for significant investigations or imaging studies.
The pulsation you are feeling could also not be directly tied to any direct increases in blood pressure or blood flow but it could also be a change in the INTRACRANIAL PRESSURE that you are feeling and this can sometimes be altered simply on a person's breathing pattern as we inhale and exhale and either blow off or retain more carbon dioxide (CO2). Or there could a slight or temporary slow down of fluid EXITING the BRAIN, or the fluid that is SURROUNDING the brain and going through the ventricles for any number of reasons due to physiological or anatomical considerations. Again, nothing that we would go and get imaging studies for necessarily with the symptoms you're describing.
Rare and serious brain disorders including vessels (arteries, not veins...from our previous discussion) would typically give us a different constellation of symptoms to recognize if something were on the verge of going wrong in a bad way.
In your particular case my dear....here's what I would do. If this is of particular concern to you or if this pulsation starts to come on more frequently or last for longer duration and you can't really identify any of the physiological accompanying features I mentioned such as increased exercise, anxiety, emotional changes, stage fright...etc. then, I might start keeping a journal of what you're noticing and just do a SELFIE analysis and write it down...anything you can say about what you feel would be helpful..not just to yourself but to ME or any other doctor you might go to as well. (Wanna see XXXXXXX OHIO? LOLOLOL). Keep track of things such as location, intensity of pulsation (scale of 1-10 with 10 being REALLY MAXIMAL and 1 being barely perceptible), describe the circumstances that have been going on over the past 1-2 hrs. before the pulsation began, etc.
Other things important to tell any doctor you may go to in the future is if there would be any SOUNDS that you could hear along with this pulsation (whooshing noises mainly), if anything seems close to the ear or not, whether you have a family history of anybody who has aneurysms anywhere in their body and certainly if anyone's been diagnosed with intracranial aneurysms, if you've started or changed medications for any reason, things like that. Make sense? All of that information will be very helpful for a good neurologist or even primary doctor to examine you thoroughly and decide whether or not imaging studies were required. I will tell you as a NEUROLOGIST that if there were any imaging studies of the head to get for a problem like this...my preference would be the MRI and MRA.....I would not choose the MRV (though I mentioned it before just for completeness sake). NOR would I order the study(ies) with gadolinium contrast.
Again, I'm sorry I missed the boat on this question.....please forgive and hope I can earn a bit better with you in the future by reading things more carefully and ASKING questions myself if it's not clear....TAKE MY OWN ADVICE I give to patients! HA!
I'd love to stay in the loop if this evolves to any extent if you'd care to drop me a line at www.bit.ly/drdariushsaghafi and keep me up to date.
Once again, my belief is that things will be just fine for you young lady...(no matter what you put down for your age!) HA!
Cheers Miss XXXXXXX ...wishin' you the best as you start to head into your fall season over there, right? Thank goodness! We just about had it with the ridiculous weather changes up here...I want to peel some layers already! :0
This query required a total of 118 minutes of professional time to research, assimilate, and file a response.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Brief Answer:
Benign pulsations in the head can be safely monitored at this time
Detailed Answer:
Greetings again Miss Julia-
So sorry that I misunderstood your question. You are referring to a pulsing sensation WITHIN the head at a certain spot....gotcha now.
So, let's REWIND that whole discussion that I put up and try again. Of course, if you EVER have pulsations ON your head....you've got some beautiful pictures to refer to and a roadmap of the arterial supply of the scalp....which also means a phlebotomist could take blood from up there too if they're having trouble getting it out of your arm! LOL...
You've had 2 episodes of this...once 3 months ago and the second more recently...duration 15 min. or thereabouts, painless, no scalp sensitivity associated and no other symptoms to report...location left side.
All that information still doesn't move me to feel the necessity to image your brain for the following reasons. The brain itself pulses and we are totally unaware of that...I'm sure that's not hard for you to believe. It pulses to the rhythm of the heart since there is a blood supply (a pretty big supply at that) that moves in and out of the brain with every beat of the heart. There is also cerebrospinal fluid that also has a pulsing activity flowing through system of channels and "caves" called VENTRICLES that is also very closely synchronized to the pulse wave generated by the heart. All of that movement is totally imperceptible to the individual. However, once in a while things happen and we exert ourselves physically with exercise or get emotionally charged or excited for good and bad reasons and of course, the heart starts racing or it just starts pounding more forcefully without necessarily getting a whole lot faster. That's going to now make pulse waves within the arteries in and around the brain more likely to swell and throb which we can now start the feel.
The most common places for us to feel this increase in activity and pressure are in the temples of the head. The temporal arteries are pretty superficial at that point and quite palpable and so perceiving that throb is not hard to do at all. Sometimes both temples can pulse at once or maybe just one side. It's usually always the same side that one can feel because there is always a dominance of flow in stereotyped situations due to the directions of the vessels, the posture of the body, etc. Again, these are normal occurrences and probably just about everybody has experienced this phenomenon without thinking too much about it at some point during their lives (young and old alike).
Then, there are pulsations such as you describe which can be felt that are not necessarily in those "common" places. This one is on the left, deeper within the skull and you feel the beat. Same principles apply of why you're able to feel that sensation. If it's painless and doesn't come with any other symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, sensitivity to light, sound, vertigo or dizziness, then, it could simply be due to a rise in blood pressure that for some reason is being felt in that location as blood is coming up from the carotid artery system. Turbulent flow of blood can cause this type of pulsation. If we are talking about a person of a more advanced age (I don't know how YOUNG you are.. :) ) then, that pulsation could be indicative of a little buildup of atherosclerotic plaque causing some changes to the usual nice and smooth laminar flow of the fluid which then, a bit magnified with increased speed of the blood or increased pressure. Everyone gets a little calcification and little plaque in their arteries as they age so again, the presence of this pulsation doesn't really call for significant investigations or imaging studies.
The pulsation you are feeling could also not be directly tied to any direct increases in blood pressure or blood flow but it could also be a change in the INTRACRANIAL PRESSURE that you are feeling and this can sometimes be altered simply on a person's breathing pattern as we inhale and exhale and either blow off or retain more carbon dioxide (CO2). Or there could a slight or temporary slow down of fluid EXITING the BRAIN, or the fluid that is SURROUNDING the brain and going through the ventricles for any number of reasons due to physiological or anatomical considerations. Again, nothing that we would go and get imaging studies for necessarily with the symptoms you're describing.
Rare and serious brain disorders including vessels (arteries, not veins...from our previous discussion) would typically give us a different constellation of symptoms to recognize if something were on the verge of going wrong in a bad way.
In your particular case my dear....here's what I would do. If this is of particular concern to you or if this pulsation starts to come on more frequently or last for longer duration and you can't really identify any of the physiological accompanying features I mentioned such as increased exercise, anxiety, emotional changes, stage fright...etc. then, I might start keeping a journal of what you're noticing and just do a SELFIE analysis and write it down...anything you can say about what you feel would be helpful..not just to yourself but to ME or any other doctor you might go to as well. (Wanna see XXXXXXX OHIO? LOLOLOL). Keep track of things such as location, intensity of pulsation (scale of 1-10 with 10 being REALLY MAXIMAL and 1 being barely perceptible), describe the circumstances that have been going on over the past 1-2 hrs. before the pulsation began, etc.
Other things important to tell any doctor you may go to in the future is if there would be any SOUNDS that you could hear along with this pulsation (whooshing noises mainly), if anything seems close to the ear or not, whether you have a family history of anybody who has aneurysms anywhere in their body and certainly if anyone's been diagnosed with intracranial aneurysms, if you've started or changed medications for any reason, things like that. Make sense? All of that information will be very helpful for a good neurologist or even primary doctor to examine you thoroughly and decide whether or not imaging studies were required. I will tell you as a NEUROLOGIST that if there were any imaging studies of the head to get for a problem like this...my preference would be the MRI and MRA.....I would not choose the MRV (though I mentioned it before just for completeness sake). NOR would I order the study(ies) with gadolinium contrast.
Again, I'm sorry I missed the boat on this question.....please forgive and hope I can earn a bit better with you in the future by reading things more carefully and ASKING questions myself if it's not clear....TAKE MY OWN ADVICE I give to patients! HA!
I'd love to stay in the loop if this evolves to any extent if you'd care to drop me a line at www.bit.ly/drdariushsaghafi and keep me up to date.
Once again, my belief is that things will be just fine for you young lady...(no matter what you put down for your age!) HA!
Cheers Miss XXXXXXX ...wishin' you the best as you start to head into your fall season over there, right? Thank goodness! We just about had it with the ridiculous weather changes up here...I want to peel some layers already! :0
This query required a total of 118 minutes of professional time to research, assimilate, and file a response.
Benign pulsations in the head can be safely monitored at this time
Detailed Answer:
Greetings again Miss Julia-
So sorry that I misunderstood your question. You are referring to a pulsing sensation WITHIN the head at a certain spot....gotcha now.
So, let's REWIND that whole discussion that I put up and try again. Of course, if you EVER have pulsations ON your head....you've got some beautiful pictures to refer to and a roadmap of the arterial supply of the scalp....which also means a phlebotomist could take blood from up there too if they're having trouble getting it out of your arm! LOL...
You've had 2 episodes of this...once 3 months ago and the second more recently...duration 15 min. or thereabouts, painless, no scalp sensitivity associated and no other symptoms to report...location left side.
All that information still doesn't move me to feel the necessity to image your brain for the following reasons. The brain itself pulses and we are totally unaware of that...I'm sure that's not hard for you to believe. It pulses to the rhythm of the heart since there is a blood supply (a pretty big supply at that) that moves in and out of the brain with every beat of the heart. There is also cerebrospinal fluid that also has a pulsing activity flowing through system of channels and "caves" called VENTRICLES that is also very closely synchronized to the pulse wave generated by the heart. All of that movement is totally imperceptible to the individual. However, once in a while things happen and we exert ourselves physically with exercise or get emotionally charged or excited for good and bad reasons and of course, the heart starts racing or it just starts pounding more forcefully without necessarily getting a whole lot faster. That's going to now make pulse waves within the arteries in and around the brain more likely to swell and throb which we can now start the feel.
The most common places for us to feel this increase in activity and pressure are in the temples of the head. The temporal arteries are pretty superficial at that point and quite palpable and so perceiving that throb is not hard to do at all. Sometimes both temples can pulse at once or maybe just one side. It's usually always the same side that one can feel because there is always a dominance of flow in stereotyped situations due to the directions of the vessels, the posture of the body, etc. Again, these are normal occurrences and probably just about everybody has experienced this phenomenon without thinking too much about it at some point during their lives (young and old alike).
Then, there are pulsations such as you describe which can be felt that are not necessarily in those "common" places. This one is on the left, deeper within the skull and you feel the beat. Same principles apply of why you're able to feel that sensation. If it's painless and doesn't come with any other symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, sensitivity to light, sound, vertigo or dizziness, then, it could simply be due to a rise in blood pressure that for some reason is being felt in that location as blood is coming up from the carotid artery system. Turbulent flow of blood can cause this type of pulsation. If we are talking about a person of a more advanced age (I don't know how YOUNG you are.. :) ) then, that pulsation could be indicative of a little buildup of atherosclerotic plaque causing some changes to the usual nice and smooth laminar flow of the fluid which then, a bit magnified with increased speed of the blood or increased pressure. Everyone gets a little calcification and little plaque in their arteries as they age so again, the presence of this pulsation doesn't really call for significant investigations or imaging studies.
The pulsation you are feeling could also not be directly tied to any direct increases in blood pressure or blood flow but it could also be a change in the INTRACRANIAL PRESSURE that you are feeling and this can sometimes be altered simply on a person's breathing pattern as we inhale and exhale and either blow off or retain more carbon dioxide (CO2). Or there could a slight or temporary slow down of fluid EXITING the BRAIN, or the fluid that is SURROUNDING the brain and going through the ventricles for any number of reasons due to physiological or anatomical considerations. Again, nothing that we would go and get imaging studies for necessarily with the symptoms you're describing.
Rare and serious brain disorders including vessels (arteries, not veins...from our previous discussion) would typically give us a different constellation of symptoms to recognize if something were on the verge of going wrong in a bad way.
In your particular case my dear....here's what I would do. If this is of particular concern to you or if this pulsation starts to come on more frequently or last for longer duration and you can't really identify any of the physiological accompanying features I mentioned such as increased exercise, anxiety, emotional changes, stage fright...etc. then, I might start keeping a journal of what you're noticing and just do a SELFIE analysis and write it down...anything you can say about what you feel would be helpful..not just to yourself but to ME or any other doctor you might go to as well. (Wanna see XXXXXXX OHIO? LOLOLOL). Keep track of things such as location, intensity of pulsation (scale of 1-10 with 10 being REALLY MAXIMAL and 1 being barely perceptible), describe the circumstances that have been going on over the past 1-2 hrs. before the pulsation began, etc.
Other things important to tell any doctor you may go to in the future is if there would be any SOUNDS that you could hear along with this pulsation (whooshing noises mainly), if anything seems close to the ear or not, whether you have a family history of anybody who has aneurysms anywhere in their body and certainly if anyone's been diagnosed with intracranial aneurysms, if you've started or changed medications for any reason, things like that. Make sense? All of that information will be very helpful for a good neurologist or even primary doctor to examine you thoroughly and decide whether or not imaging studies were required. I will tell you as a NEUROLOGIST that if there were any imaging studies of the head to get for a problem like this...my preference would be the MRI and MRA.....I would not choose the MRV (though I mentioned it before just for completeness sake). NOR would I order the study(ies) with gadolinium contrast.
Again, I'm sorry I missed the boat on this question.....please forgive and hope I can earn a bit better with you in the future by reading things more carefully and ASKING questions myself if it's not clear....TAKE MY OWN ADVICE I give to patients! HA!
I'd love to stay in the loop if this evolves to any extent if you'd care to drop me a line at www.bit.ly/drdariushsaghafi and keep me up to date.
Once again, my belief is that things will be just fine for you young lady...(no matter what you put down for your age!) HA!
Cheers Miss XXXXXXX ...wishin' you the best as you start to head into your fall season over there, right? Thank goodness! We just about had it with the ridiculous weather changes up here...I want to peel some layers already! :0
This query required a total of 118 minutes of professional time to research, assimilate, and file a response.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Thanks doctor ;)
Thanks doctor ;)
Brief Answer:
That was so NICE of you to spend a question opportunity on a THANK YOU
Detailed Answer:
You are so THOUGHTFUL my dear sending a THANK YOU note in lieu of a question....I'm like....geez...what other information can I give her! LOL....
Oh, here's something I just learned tonight, reading the underside of a bottle cap for SNAPPLE....do you have that drink there?
Did you know that the Australian continent is WIDER than the moon? I would not have guessed that one...but the SNAPPLE people did! LOL!!
Cheers Lady Dear!
That was so NICE of you to spend a question opportunity on a THANK YOU
Detailed Answer:
You are so THOUGHTFUL my dear sending a THANK YOU note in lieu of a question....I'm like....geez...what other information can I give her! LOL....
Oh, here's something I just learned tonight, reading the underside of a bottle cap for SNAPPLE....do you have that drink there?
Did you know that the Australian continent is WIDER than the moon? I would not have guessed that one...but the SNAPPLE people did! LOL!!
Cheers Lady Dear!
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Brief Answer:
That was so NICE of you to spend a question opportunity on a THANK YOU
Detailed Answer:
You are so THOUGHTFUL my dear sending a THANK YOU note in lieu of a question....I'm like....geez...what other information can I give her! LOL....
Oh, here's something I just learned tonight, reading the underside of a bottle cap for SNAPPLE....do you have that drink there?
Did you know that the Australian continent is WIDER than the moon? I would not have guessed that one...but the SNAPPLE people did! LOL!!
Cheers Lady Dear!
That was so NICE of you to spend a question opportunity on a THANK YOU
Detailed Answer:
You are so THOUGHTFUL my dear sending a THANK YOU note in lieu of a question....I'm like....geez...what other information can I give her! LOL....
Oh, here's something I just learned tonight, reading the underside of a bottle cap for SNAPPLE....do you have that drink there?
Did you know that the Australian continent is WIDER than the moon? I would not have guessed that one...but the SNAPPLE people did! LOL!!
Cheers Lady Dear!
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Answered by
Get personalised answers from verified doctor in minutes across 80+ specialties
