You’ve been feeling fatigued, misplaced somewhat weight, and had some muscle aches and pains, and your physician cannot decide what’s improper. What seem to be signs of a typical chilly may truly be early indicators of one thing referred to as vasculitis, a gaggle of issues of the blood vessels that usually go undiagnosed for years.
In this Mayo Clinic Minute, Jason Howland explores one of many rarer types of vasculitis, Takayasu’s arteritis.
Journalists: Broadcast-quality video (1:10) is within the downloads on the finish of this submit. Please courtesy: “Mayo Clinic News Network.” Read the script.
Takayasu’s arteritis is a uncommon kind of vasculitis, a gaggle of circumstances that trigger blood vessel irritation.
“It is in the category of large vessel vasculitis, meaning that it involves the aorta, that’s the largest artery in the body, and its main branches,” says Dr. Kenneth Warrington, a Mayo Clinic rheumatologist.
The irritation causes the arteries to slim or thicken. It can weaken blood vessel partitions and doubtlessly trigger aneurysms, and ultimately result in stroke or coronary heart failure.
“Takayasu’s arteritis can be serious, particularly if not recognized or treated promptly,” he says.
Dr. Warrington says early detection is key, however with an extended checklist of signs much like many different health points, attending to that prognosis is not simple.
“Autoimmune diseases can be difficult to diagnose, but certainly need to be considered. So that, again, treatment can be started before there is progressive damage from the conditions,” he says.
Takayasu’s arteritis, like many different types of vasculitis, is sometimes handled with medication, like prednisone.
“In some patients were able to control it with medications, but there is still the possibility of progression of the disease and of flare-ups during the chronic phase of the disease,” says Dr. Warrington.
