CTA or CTV?

Symptoms and Treatments
1

Hi,

I believe I may have IJV compression causing IIH.

I want to get a CT with contrast ahead of seeing Jonathan Hughes.

Would I need a angiogram or venogram? I’m planning a neck ultra sound also.

I may have carotid artery issues too, I’m not sure. Most of my symptoms are visual (so bright & out if focus I’m housebound plus dizziness)/neuro plus head pressure & tinnitus.

Huge bilateral styloids, which I’m sure are the cause!

2

A CT with contrast can be timed to take images showing the arteries and then the veins, if you’re concerned that you might have some carotid artery issues too.

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3

@BabzieAM - a venogram will look at your veins i.e. IJV & angiogram looks at arteries though the term angiogram is often used for both. You can get both angio & venograms done during one procedure. Contrast is used in this procedure, too, & a catheter is run from the groin up through the neck & into the brain to look at the most significant vascular pathways. Blood flow pressures are also measured at various points along the way which help indicate where there are constrictions in the vessels.

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4

CT angiogram/venogram doesn’t involve catheter procedure.

5

I beg to differ, @vdm, since I just had both a week & a half ago & there was definitely a catheter involved.

6

I think maybe there’s a bit of confusion between the terms- a CT with contrast just has dye injected which then can be timed to show arteries or veins, it’s sometimes referred to as a CTA or a CTV from my understanding… CT venogram doesn’t usually need a catheter unless the pressures are being measured, which is a more invasive procedure (I would guess what you had done @Isaiah_40_31 ?)
In summary, while a CT venogram provides valuable information about cerebral veins, it does not directly measure pressure. For pressure measurements, other methods (such as invasive cerebral venography with manometry) are necessary

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7

@Isaiah_40_31 Well, the thing is very simple:

  • CT (CTA, CTV) gives “static”, momentarily multiplanar picture. The cannula is usually inserted into the arm’s vein (for CTA/CTV or typical “CT with contrast” where contrast is delivered into the blood circulatory system).
  • Cerebral angiogram/venogram is performed using fluoroscopy which is like an x-ray video camera filming the flow. The catheter is navigated often through the groin, arm, or rarely directly through IJV and multiple other procedures can be performed at the same time, like deploying a stent, removing some tromb (in certain cases) etc as the catheter is good for delivering fluids (contrast) and/or some basic tools to the specific target spot (while cannula is for purely fluid delivery (like IV), including the contrast).

See imaging section in the FAQ for more details of each imaging modality and it’s capabilities

8

My humble apologies for my answer above. I read the post too quickly (plus add in a bit of brain fog) & answered on the fly. Thank you @Jules & @vdm for providing the correct information. “To err is human, to forgive is divine”. Thank you all for your forgiveness.

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9

It’s like “never bet against vdm” :joy:
You are doing great, sometimes we all go for quantity and not for quality :laughing:

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