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Complications
By Mayo Clinic staffThe severity of Takayasu's arteritis may vary. In some people, the condition remains mild and doesn't produce complications. But in others, extended cycles of inflammation and healing in the arteries can lead to stiff and narrowed blood vessels, reducing blood flow and its vital supply of oxygen and nutrients to organs and tissues of the body.
Complications include:
- High blood pressure, usually as a result of decreased blood flow to your kidneys
- Inflammation of the heart — either of the heart muscle itself (myocarditis) or the sac that envelops the heart (pericarditis)
- Heart failure, due to high blood pressure, myocarditis or aortic regurgitation — a condition in which a faulty aortic valve allows blood to leak back into your heart — or a combination of these
- Ischemic stroke, a type of stroke that occurs as a result of reduced or blocked blood flow in arteries leading to your brain
- Transient ischemic attack, a temporary stroke that has all the symptoms of an ischemic stroke without causing lasting damage
- Aneurysm in the aorta, which occurs when the walls of the blood vessel weaken and stretch out, forming a bulge that has the potential to rupture
- Blood clot formation
- Heart attack — although not common, it may occur as a result of reduced blood flow to the heart
- Lung involvement, when the arteries to the lungs (pulmonary arteries) become diseased
Pregnancy
In studies of pregnant women with Takayasu's arteritis, most women had a normal pregnancy and delivery. Still, if you have Takayasu's arteritis and are planning on becoming pregnant, talk with your cardiologist and obstetrician first. Active disease may pose risks for you and your baby, and drugs to treat it may cause problems. A comprehensive plan to limit complications of pregnancy should be in place before you conceive.
- Anton E. Large vessel arteritis: A diagnostic challenge in the elderly. Journal of Clinical Pathology. 2005;58(7):782.
- Vasculitis syndromes of the central and peripheral nervous systems fact sheet. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/vasculitis/detail_vasculitis.htm. Accessed Aug. 8, 2008.
- Johnston SL, et al. Takayasu arteritis: A review. Journal of Clinical Pathology. 2002;55(7):481-486.
- Takayasu's arteritis. Merck Manuals Online Medical Library. http://www.merck.com/mmhe/sec05/ch069/ch069f.html. Accessed Aug. 8, 2008.
- Kis B, et al. Severe supraaortal atherosclerotic disease resembling Takayasu's arteritis. Vascular Health Risk Management. 2007;3(3):351-354.
- Kissin EY, et al. Diagnostic imaging in Takayasu arteritis. Current Opinion in Rheumatology. 2004;16(3):31-37.
- Liang P, et al. Advances in the medical and surgical treatment of Takayasu arteritis. Current Opinion in Rheumatology. 2005;17(1):16-24.
- de Franciscis S, et al. The management of Takayasu's arteritis: Personal experience. Annals of Vascular Surgery. 2007;21(6):754-760.
