Just told I have extra tortuosity of the right verterbral artery, anyone else have this and what does it mean?

Question

I was told it was not life-threatening, more of an annoyance, and told to visit an ENT. i have persistant ringing in the ears, and weird sensations in my head. Had a brain MRI, that showed no tumors etc... only this artery abnormality.

Answer 1

Tortuous implies a 'twisted' course - the artery is not perfectly straight. It is typically found by accident - as was yours - due to the widespread availability of exquisitely sensitive imaging modalities. A tortuous artery produces no symptoms, so it is not the cause of the ringing in your ears nor the weird sensations in your head. Normal magnetic resonance imaging elminates any serious underlying problem, but it does not resolve your symptoms. An ENT should be able to assist you.