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Page contents:
 
1.What is vasculitis
2.Symptoms
3.Causes and risk factors
4.Complications
5.Diagnosis
6.Which specialists can diagnose vasculitis?
7.Treatment
8.Prevention

What is vasculitis


Vasculitis is an autoimmune disease that causes inflammation in your blood vessels.
Ischemia is the main cause of the symptoms of vasculitis. Any blood vessel can become inflamed, whether it is an artery or a vein of different sizes. Therefore, vasculitis includes a wide range of diseases that may share a similar set of symptoms.
There are many types of vasculitis, most of which are rare. Vasculitis may affect only one or more organs.

Symptoms

Vasculitis symptoms can show up in many ways, depending on what part of your body is affected. Still, some general symptoms include:
 
*Trouble breathing.
*Coughing.
*Numbness or tingling, especially in your hands and feet.
*Rashes, bumps or areas of discoloration on your skin.
*Fever.
*Fatigue or a general feeling of being sick.
*Weight loss.
*Weakness.
*Joint pain.
*Abdominal (stomach) pain.
*Kidney problems (including dark pee or blood in your pee).
*Strokes.
 
Which symptoms you experience depends on which blood vessels are affected and how severe the inflammation is.
Listen to your body and trust your instincts. Consult a healthcare provider if you notice any changes or symptoms that make you feel worried or uncomfortable. Through a link to Estecharat Experts.

Causes and risk factors

Vasculitis is an unexpected response by your body’s immune system that causes it to attack your blood vessels. What causes vasculitis is not fully known, but when it does occur, your blood vessels may narrow or close off as the vessel walls get thicker. Rarely, the blood vessel wall may weaken, causing it to expand or bulge.

Risk factors:


While anyone can get vasculitis, some things can raise your chances of having certain types of the condition, including:
 
*Your age. Some types are more common in older people, while others, such as Kawasaki disease, most often affect children.

*A family history of a particular type of vasculitis

*Cocaine use 

*Smoking

*Certain medications, such as allopurinol (Zyloprim), hydralazine (Apresoline), minocycline (Dynacin, Minocin, Myrac, Solodyn, Ximino), and propylthiouracil 

*COVID-19, hepatitis A, or hepatitis B infections

*Also having other immune disorders

*Your sex. Certain types are more likely to affect people of a particular gender. 

Vasculitis Complications

Whether you have complications depends on what type of vasculitis you have and how bad it is. Some serious complications of vasculitis include:
 
*Organ damage
*Blood clots 
*Aneurysm
*Loss of eyesight 
*Infection

Diagnosis

A healthcare provider will diagnose vasculitis with a physical exam and tests. They’ll ask you about your symptoms and when you first noticed them.

Diagnosing vasculitis is usually part of a differential diagnosis for other conditions. This means your provider will probably use a few tests to determine what’s causing your symptoms before diagnosing you with vasculitis. Some tests you might need include:

*Blood tests. Certain types of blood cells or antibodies can be signs of vasculitis.

*Urine tests. These check for kidney damage.
 
*Imaging tests. X-rays, MRI scans, CT scans, PET scans, and ultrasounds show inflammation in your blood vessels and organs. You might also have an angiogram, in which your doctor injects dye into your bloodstream. It shows up on X-rays to give a better picture of your blood vessels.

*Heart tests. An echocardiogram tests how well your heart is working.

*Biopsy. Your doctor takes a sample of tissue. A specialist can check it for signs of inflammation or damage.

Which specialists can diagnose vasculitis?

*Cardiologists.

*Dermatologists.

*Infectious disease specialists are experts in diagnosis and treatment of infections.

*Nephrologists.

*Neurologists specialize in the brain and nervous system.

*Ophthalmologists.

*Pulmonologists.

*Rheumatologists specialize in joints, muscles, and autoimmune diseases.

*Urologists specialize in the urinary tract and urogenital systems.

Treatment

Which vasculitis treatment your doctor recommends depends on what’s causing it and which organs it affects. It’s usually meant to control the inflammation and prevent organ and blood vessel damage.

*Medications

*Steroids, like prednisone are the most common medications prescribed to fight the inflammation vasculitis causes. Your doctor will watch you closely for side effects like high blood pressure, high blood sugar, and bone problems, especially if you take them for a long time.

*Other medications, like azathioprine (Azasan, Imuran), cyclophosphamide (Cytoxan), methotrexate (Rheumatrex, Trexall), mycophenolate (CellCept, Myfortic), rituximab (Riabni, Rituxan, Ruxience, Truxima), or tocilizumab (Actemra) can be prescribed along with steroids. Which medication you might need depends on how serious your vasculitis is, whether it’s in your organs, and your medical history.

*Surgery, Sometimes vasculitis can cause issues that need surgery to repair. For instance, if your blood vessel walls bulge and form an aneurysm, surgery can lower the chances that it will burst. If you have a blocked artery, you could need surgery to restore blood flow to the area. But any kind of organ damage might require surgery.

Prevention

How can I prevent vasculitis?

You can’t prevent vasculitis because experts don’t know what causes it. There’s no way to know if someone will develop it.
Sources and references
 
https://www.msdmanuals.com/professional/musculoskeletal-and-connective-tissue-disorders/vasculitis/overview-of-vasculitis
https://www.webmd.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/vasculitis-treatment
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/12101-vasculitis#symptoms-and-causes
https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/vasculitis/causes
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