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Tests and diagnosis
By Mayo Clinic staff
Brain scans
Your doctor may recommend an MRI exam of the brain to detect any underlying causes for your headache. During the exam, a magnetic field and radio waves are used to create cross-sectional images of the structures within your brain.
In other cases, a CT scan of your brain may be done. CT employs an X-ray unit that rotates around your body and a computer to create cross-sectional images (like slices) of your brain and head.
Angiograms
Your doctor may also order a cerebral angiogram, a test that can visualize the neck and brain arteries. It involves threading thin tubing through a blood vessel, usually starting in the leg, to an artery in your neck. Contrast material is injected into the tubing to allow an X-ray machine to visualize the arteries in your neck and brain.
A less invasive version of this test uses MRI or CT, instead of threading a catheter through your blood vessels.
Spinal tap
Sometimes a spinal tap (lumbar puncture) is needed as well — especially if the headache appeared suddenly. With this procedure, the doctor removes a small amount of the fluid that surrounds your brain and spinal cord. The fluid sample can be tested for evidence of bleeding or infection.
