Table of Contents
Does vasculitis affect life expectancy?
Some forms of vasculitis can affect vital organs and be life-threatening when the disease is active. Vasculitis can also cause damage to organs that can affect overall life expectancy.
What are the long term effects of vasculitis?
If your nerves aren’t getting enough blood, you could have numbness and weakness. Vasculitis in your brain may cause a stroke. You could have a heart attack if it affects your heart. Inflammation in the vessels supplying blood to your kidney can lead to kidney failure.
Does vasculitis cause permanent damage?
The inflamed vessel wall can block the flow of oxygen to the brain, causing a loss of brain function and ultimately strokes. In some cases, CNS vasculitis is life-threatening. It’s important to get treatment for this condition.
What is the most common vasculitis?
Giant cell arteritis is the most common type of primary systemic vasculitis with an incidence of 200/million population/year.
Does vasculitis cause dementia?
Vasculitis rarely affects the central nervous system, as opposed to other organ systems and the peripheral nervous system, because it is an immunologically privileged site. Many arteritides can affect the CNS and ultimately progress to dementia, but the primary presentation of vasculitis as dementia is extremely rare.
What happens to your body when you have vasculitis?
Vasculitis involves inflammation of the blood vessels. The inflammation can cause the walls of the blood vessels to thicken, which reduces the width of the passageway through the vessel. If blood flow is restricted, it can result in organ and tissue damage. There are many types of vasculitis, and most of them are rare.
Is the prognosis good for people with vasculitis?
According to the American College of Rheumatology, “the outcome for patients with vasculitis is often good,” thanks to the availability of effective treatments.
How does treatment of vasculitis reduce the risk of organ failure?
Medical treatment of vasculitis can decrease the risk of organ failure. When the walls of blood vessels are inflamed, the inside channel (lumen) of the vessel narrows. Picture a garden hose: If the hose walls suddenly thicken, the inside (“lumen”) of the hose becomes significantly smaller.
What does it mean to have Central Nervous System vasculitis?
Central nervous system (CNS vasculitis is inflammation of blood vessel walls in the brain or spine. (The brain and the spine make up the central nervous system.) CNS vasculitis often occurs in the following situations: accompanied by other autoimmune diseases such as systemic lupus erythematosus, dermatomyositis, and, rarely, rheumatoid arthritis.