Cervical Venous Hum

Abstract

Cervical venous hums are unusual in the adult unless a hyperdynamic circulatory state exists. Patients with intracranial arteriovenous malformations often have increased cerebral blood flow and increased venous return through the internal jugular veins, and cervical venous hums would therefore be expected to be more frequent. Two patients had large intracranial arteriovenous malformations, cranial bruits and very loud cervical venous hums. One patient hears and is annoyed by the hum. A cervical venous hum in a patient with a history of subarachnoid hemorrhage, migraine-like headache or epilepsy should alert the physician to the possibility of intracranial arteriovenous malformation.