Help With Arthritis Pain-Takayasu Arteritis

Takayasu's Arteritis

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• The cause of Takayasu’s Arteritis is unknown. Theories include that Takayasu’s arthritis may be an autoimmune disease.

• Takayasu’s Arteritis is not a common condition, in fact it is estimated that only 2 -3 out of every million people are diagnosed annually, the majority of these are women in their 20s and 30s. Asian women appear to have the highest risk of this disease.

• Takayasu’s Arteritis is a vasculitis, or a condition caused by chronic inflammation of blood vessels, beginning with the aorta in branching from there. The layers of the inflamed blood vessels begin to thicken; the thickening reduces the amount of blood that’s able to go through the narrowed vessels.

• Reduced blood flow reduces oxygen and nutrients to various body tissues. This reduced flow due to inflammation of arteries can cause life threatening conditions including high blood pressure, heart attack, stroke, heart failure, blood clots, aneurysms and other conditions.

• Takayasu’s Arteritis goes through phases; systemic and occlusive. Inflammation is much worse during systemic phase than in the occlusive phase. During systemic phase symptoms include:

• Fatigue • Fever • Weight loss • Arthritis • Nonspecific aches and pains • Tenderness in the area of affected arteries

During the occlusive phase symptoms caused by narrowing of affected arteries may include:

• Pain in limbs (especially with repetitive activities) • Dizziness, usually a constant in a • Headaches • Visual problems • Inability to palpitate pulse (unable to feel pulses in neck, elbow, wrist and lower extremities) • High blood pressure and a difference in blood pressure between right and left arm