DSA Cerebral Angiography
A focused scan for Brain vessels, Aneurysm, AVM.
Overview
Examines Brain vessels, Aneurysm, AVM. Performed at an NABL-accredited Meridian Health centre with a same-day report and a free doctor review.
The full panel
3 areas across 1 groupEvery parameter, grouped by body system — no clicking to expand.
What this scan measures
The blood vessels of the brain and neck in fine detail. A catheter is passed from an artery — usually at the wrist or groin — up to the neck vessels, contrast is injected, and rapid X-ray images are acquired; digital subtraction removes the bone and soft tissue so only the vessels remain. It is the reference standard for cerebral vascular anatomy.
It is a specialist, invasive test used when non-invasive imaging is not enough: defining an aneurysm before treatment, mapping an arteriovenous malformation, investigating a subarachnoid haemorrhage with no cause found on CT or MR angiography, and as the platform for endovascular treatment performed in the same sitting.
Symptoms that lead to this scan
- Subarachnoid haemorrhage requiring the source to be identified
- A known or suspected cerebral aneurysm needing treatment planning
- A suspected arteriovenous malformation or fistula
- Recurrent unexplained intracranial bleeding
- Planning of endovascular stroke or aneurysm treatment
Understanding your results
DSA defines vascular anatomy with a level of detail no other test matches, which is why it guides treatment decisions rather than simply describing them — the size, neck and orientation of an aneurysm determine whether coiling or clipping is appropriate. It is a procedure, not a scan, and carries a small but real risk of stroke, arterial injury at the puncture site and contrast reaction, which is why it is reserved for situations where the answer will change management.
Why the preparation matters
Fast for four hours before the procedure. Kidney function and clotting are checked beforehand, and blood-thinning medication is adjusted only on the instruction of the treating team — never stopped on your own. You will lie flat and still throughout, and afterwards you must keep the puncture-site limb straight and rest flat for several hours so the artery seals; bleeding from the site is the commonest complication and this is how it is prevented. Drink well afterwards to help clear the contrast, and arrange for someone to take you home.
Fluoroscopy — safety and who should not be scanned
Full Fluoroscopy guideFluoroscopy is the highest-dose technique in plain radiography, for one straightforward reason: it is a sustained exposure rather than a single shot. A short study delivers a dose broadly in the range of a CT of the same region, and a long interventional procedure can be considerably more than that. It is controlled deliberately rather than left to run — pulsed screening rather than continuous, last-image-hold so the beam is off while the picture stays on screen, tight collimation to the area of interest, and a screening time recorded on every study as part of the record. You are entitled to ask what yours was. The dose buys a functional answer that no still image can produce, which is the whole justification for it.
- Pregnancy, or any chance of it
- This is the study most likely to be postponed in pregnancy, because the exposure is continuous and most fluoroscopic examinations sit directly over the abdomen or pelvis. Declare it when you book. Ultrasound, MRI and endoscopy answer many of the same questions without any radiation, and where a fluoroscopic study is genuinely unavoidable the decision is taken by a doctor and documented.
- Suspected perforation or complete obstruction — barium is not used
- Barium gives the best mucosal detail there is, but barium leaking through a perforation into the chest or abdomen causes a severe chemical inflammation, and barium sitting above a complete obstruction thickens and makes matters worse. Where either is suspected, a water-soluble iodinated contrast is used instead. That choice is made by the radiologist from the clinical history, which is exactly why the details on the request form matter.
- Previous reaction to iodinated contrast
- Angiography, hysterosalpingography and water-soluble gut studies all use iodinated contrast. A past reaction with rash, swelling, breathing difficulty or collapse must be reported beforehand, so the study can be done with premedication, with a different agent, or replaced altogether. Kidney function and your medication list are checked as they would be for a contrast CT.
- Risk of aspiration during a swallow study
- If contrast goes into the airway rather than the oesophagus it can inflame the lung, and different agents behave differently there — this is not a case of one being simply safer. Anyone who coughs, chokes or develops a wet, gurgly voice after eating, or who has had a stroke or another neurological swallowing problem, needs that flagged before the study: a videofluoroscopic swallow with a speech and language therapist, using small graded volumes and the contrast chosen for that situation, is the appropriate examination rather than a standard barium swallow.
- Recent barium, and imaging booked afterwards
- Residual barium in the gut scatters the beam and degrades CT, ultrasound and DEXA for a week or two afterwards. Tell the department if you have had a barium study recently, and sequence any other imaging BEFORE the barium rather than after it wherever the order can be chosen.
- Bleeding risk, for catheter procedures
- Angiography and other catheter-based fluoroscopic work involve puncturing an artery, so blood thinners, aspirin, a known bleeding disorder and a low platelet count all need declaring in advance. Nothing is stopped on your own initiative — the plan is made by the team performing the procedure.
Who should consider this scan
- Patients with a confirmed or suspected cerebral aneurysm
- Anyone after a subarachnoid haemorrhage of unclear cause
- People with a suspected arteriovenous malformation
- Patients undergoing endovascular neurological treatment
- Only on the recommendation of a neurologist or neurosurgeon
Conditions it helps detect
How it works
Patient stories
96% recommend“The phlebotomist arrived exactly on time and was gentle. My report came in five hours with a doctor’s note.”
“Booked at night, sample collected next morning. The parameter breakdown is genuinely thorough.”
“Loved the free doctor review — she walked me through my vitamin D and thyroid results clearly.”