Takayasu arteritis - Symptoms and diagnosis

The first signs of Takayasu arteritis usually occurs in two stages.

The first stage involves:
-fever, fatigue
-night sweats
weight-loss
-joint and muscle pain.
Not everyone will have these symptoms start, making it possible to advance asymptomatic blood destruction.

The second stage begins when the disease caused the collapse ofarterial inflammation, reducing blood flow, oxygen and nutrients to tissues.
These symptoms include:
-claudication
-headache
-visual changes
-hypertension
blood pressure-the difference between the two arms
diminished or absent pulse, the forearm
, mild anemia
chest-pain
-difficulty breathing.

The clinical course can be fulminant, can progress or stabilize.

Complications are based on the distribution of vessels involved:
-hypertension-reducing renal blood flow
myocarditis or pericarditis,
-heart failure, due to hypertension, myocarditis or aorticregurgitation
ischemic attack, due to lower-brain blood flow in arteries
transient ischemic attack-an attack that has all the signs of atemporary ischemic attack without brain damage
aneurysms of the aorta, the formation of dilatations in wall-aortic
blood-clot
-attack-by poor coronary perfusion
-involvement of pulmonary arteries.
Death occurs in heart failure or stroke.
diagnosis

Takayasu arteritis should be suspected in a young woman whomthere is a decrease or absence of peripheral pulse in noisediscrepancy with cardiac and central pulse.
To confirm the diagnosis is made:
blood-tests-blood count, C-reactive protein, elevated ESR, anemia
-angiography-artery stenosis detection areas
-MRI, CT
-ultrasound.
As the disease progresses in diagnostic tests should be repeatedflare-ups.