Contrast Echocardiography in Patients With Pulmonary Arteriovenous Malformations (PAVMs)
Contrast Echocardiography in Patients With Pulmonary Arteriovenous Malformations (PAVMs)
Pulmonary arteriovenous malformations (PAVMs) are thin-walled abnormal vessels which provide
 direct capillary-free communications between the pulmonary and systemic circulations.
 Patients with PAVMs have usually have low blood oxygen levels and are at risk of other
 complications including strokes, brain abscesses, pregnancy-related complications and
 haemorrhage. We hypothesise that the complications of PAVM patients arise from their PAVMs
 and not the more recognised intracardiac forms of shunting. We propose to perform
 echocardiograms to enable assessment of the presence of other causes of capillary-free
 communications between the pulmonary and systemic circulations.
Inclusion Criteria:

 -  patients with pulmonary arteriovenous malformations (PAVMs)

 Exclusion Criteria:

 -  unable to provide informed consent