Cluster Headaches
Examinations and Tests
Your doctor will be able to diagnose cluster headaches with a medical history and physical examination. Cluster headaches have a classic set of symptoms, so your doctor usually can make a diagnosis based on your description of the headaches. Imaging tests are not commonly needed to help find a treatment for your pain.
If your cluster headaches are not helped by treatment, become chronic, or didn't begin until you were over age 50, your doctor may order imaging tests to rule out other causes for the headaches. Imaging tests may also be ordered if the pattern or symptoms of your headaches change, you develop a serious medical condition such as cancer or diabetes, or the headaches are triggered by physical exertion, sex, coughing, or sneezing.
If you need imaging tests, you may have a:
- Computed tomography scan (CT scan) of the head. A CT produces detailed pictures of structures inside the body. It can also detect serious but uncommon medical problems such as brain tumours.
- Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the head. An MRI can detect changes in the normal structure of your brain. It may be ordered to rule out other serious medical problems such as brain tumours, blood clots, or a bulge in the wall of a blood vessel (aneurysm). But most headaches are not caused by these more serious conditions. Access to MRI scanners is not available in all areas. If you need an MRI scan, you may need to travel to a regional centre.
Talking with your doctor may help you decide whether to have imaging tests to evaluate your headaches. For more information on this decision, see:
If your symptoms are not clearly related to cluster headaches, your doctor may order additional tests such as blood or urine tests to rule out other causes.
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| Author: | Douglas Dana Monica Rhodes | Last Updated: May 28, 2008 |
| Medical Review: | Anne C. Poinier, MD - Internal Medicine Colin Chalk, MD, CM, FRCPC - Neurology | |
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