For information about COVID-19, including symptoms and prevention, please read our COVID-19 patient guide. If you need to see your provider, please contact us to see if a Video Visit is right for you. Please also consider supporting Weill Cornell Medicine’s efforts against the pandemic..

Cavernous Malformations

You are here

Symptoms of a Cavernous Malformation

Many people with a cerebral cavernous malformation will never experience any symptoms. In others, a cav-mal may cause:

  • Headache
  • Weakness
  • Numbness
  • Difficulty speaking
  • Unsteadiness or loss of balance
  • Hearing or vision changes
  • Seizures
  • Paralysis
  • Cerebral hemorrhage (bleeding in the brain)


Since these symptoms can be signs of many different conditions, a doctor will generally order an MRI scan of the brain to diagnose the problem. (See Diagnosing and Treating a Cavernous Malformation.)

In some people, symptoms seem to come and go, lessening for a while and then coming back again. This may mean that the cav-mal has caused a small hemorrhage, which worsens the symptoms; as the leaked blood is reabsorbed into the brain the patient feels better, only to experience symptoms again with the next small incident of blood leakage.

Request an Appointment | Refer a Patient

Reviewed by Jared Knopman, M.D.
Last reviewed/last updated: October 2017