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What is Takayasu Arteritis?

TA is a very rare disease of young people with the initial symptoms arising in those between 5 and 40 years of age. Although both sexes may be affected, 80-90 per cent of patients are female. TA has worldwide prevalence and may affect all races. However, the disease is thought to be more common in patients originating from the Far East, Japan and the Asian sub-continent. As far as we know, TA is not a genetically inherited disease. It is unusual for more than one family member to suffer from the disease. However, the increased prevalence in certain parts of the world may indicate a genetic component to disease susceptibility and current studies are investigating this.

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Articles of Interest

Diagnosis at Last: Takayasu’s Arteritis

Because patients may have very few or no symptoms, and the disease is so rare, it’s common for doctors to misdiagnose patients for years.

French recommendations for the management of Takayasu’s arteritis

Diagnosis of Takayasu’s arteritis should be clinically suspected in the presence of neck pain along the path of the carotid arteries, lack of pulses in the upper limbs, vascular murmurs, claudication of the upper or lower limbs in a young subject. Indirectly, a diagnosis of Takayasu’s arteritis can be considered in view of unusual manifestations, such as high blood pressure in a young subject, a change in the overall condition, episcleritis, erythema nodosum.

Management of Takayasu arteritis: a systematic review

TA is a difficult disease to deal with. First, early diagnosis is difficult and requires clinical awareness and suspicion [ 7 , 8 ]. Second, and even more important, is the lack of standard and reliable parameters reflecting disease activity

Recurrent Vertigo: Is it Takayasu's Arteritis?

Takayasu's arteritis, formerly known as “pulseless disease,” is a chronic idiopathic inflammatory disease which affects the vessels in the body. First described in the 1800s, this rare condition is more commonly found in women in their 40s and more common in Asian countries.

Takayasu Arteritis

Takayasu arteritis (TA) is an idiopathic, granulomatous, large-vessel arteritis that predominantly involves the aorta, its major branch arteries, and (less frequently) the pulmonary arteries (1). The disease has been referred to with a number of different names in the past, such as aortic arch syndrome, pulseless disease, idiopathic aortitis, stenosing aortitis, aortoarteritis, and occlusive thromboarteriopathy.

Takayasu's arteritis: a review of the literature

The clinical presentation is characterised by an acute phase with constitutional symptoms, followed, months or years later, by a chronic phase in which symptoms relate to fibrosis or occlusion of vessels. Angiography is the gold standard for diagnosis and for topographical classification and it correlates with symptoms and prognosis.

“It’s hard trying to explain yourself when you’ve fainted”: a patient’s experience with Takayasu arteritis

Once I was admitted to the hospital, everyone was really nice. They saw me fainting and my blood pressure dropping. When they diagnosed Takayasu arteritis, I was happy because I finally had an answer. I had been convinced I was crazy for so long. I didn’t think about what would happen after — I was just relieved that I wasn’t crazy and that I wasn’t doing it to myself.

Resources

UMEM Educational Pearls

Tx is challenging, steroids may induce remission in up to 60%.

Vasculitis Foundation

TAK primarily affects Asian women and teen-aged girls. Nine out of 10 patients are female, with age of onset between 15 and 40 years old. However, the disease can affect children and adults of both sexes, and all races and ethnic groups. Prevalence is estimated at 1 in 200,000 people.