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Symptoms
By Mayo Clinic staff
General signs and symptoms common to most vasculitis types
The signs and symptoms of vasculitis vary depending on which blood vessels and, as a result, which organ systems are affected. However, general signs and symptoms that most people with vasculitis experience include:
- Fever
- Fatigue
- Weight loss
- Muscle and joint pain
- Loss of appetite
- Nerve problems, such as numbness or weakness
Signs and symptoms by type of vasculitis
- Behcet's syndrome. This condition causes inflammation of your arteries and veins, and often appears in your 20s and 30s. Signs and symptoms include mouth and genital ulcers, eye inflammation and acne-like lesions on your skin.
- Buerger's disease. Also called thromboangiitis obliterans, this condition causes inflammation and clots in the blood vessels in your extremities. Signs and symptoms can include pain in your hands, arms, feet and legs, and ulcers on your fingers and toes. This disorder is strongly associated with cigarette smoking.
- Churg-Strauss syndrome. This condition, also known as allergic granulomatosis and allergic angiitis, most commonly affects the blood vessels in your lungs. It's often associated with asthma.
- Cryoglobulinemia. This condition is often associated with hepatitis C infections. Signs and symptoms include a rash called purpura on your lower extremities, arthritis, weakness and nerve damage (neuropathy).
- Giant cell arteritis. This condition, which occurs in people older than 50, is an inflammation of the arteries in your head, especially your temples. Giant cell arteritis can cause headaches, scalp tenderness, jaw pain while chewing, blurred or double vision, and even blindness. Giant cell arteritis is often associated with polymyalgia rheumatica.
- Henoch-Schonlein purpura. This condition is caused by inflammation of the blood vessels of your skin, joints, bowel and kidneys. Signs and symptoms can include abdominal pain, blood in the urine, joint pain, and a rash called purpura on your buttocks, legs and feet. Henoch-Schonlein most often occurs in children, but it can occur at any age.
- Hypersensitivity vasculitis. The primary sign of hypersensitivity vasculitis is red spots on your skin. It can be triggered by an allergy, most often to a medication or an infection.
- Kawasaki disease. Also known as mucocutaneous lymph node syndrome, this condition most often affects children younger than 5 years of age. Signs and symptoms include fever, skin rash and eye inflammation.
- Microscopic polyangiitis. This form of vasculitis affects small-sized blood vessels in your kidneys, lungs and skin. Signs and symptoms include skin lesions, fever, unintentional weight loss, glomerulonephritis — inflammation of the small blood vessels in the kidneys — and nerve damage.
- Polyarteritis nodosa. This form of vasculitis affects medium-sized blood vessels in many different parts of the body, including your skin, heart, kidneys, peripheral nerves, muscles and intestines. Signs and symptoms include a rash called purpura, skin ulcers, muscle and joint pain, abdominal pain, and kidney problems.
- Polymyalgia rheumatica. This condition primarily affects older adults and results in pain and inflammation of the large joints, such as your shoulders, hips and knees. Signs and symptoms include pain and stiffness in the muscles of your hips, thighs, shoulders, upper arms and neck. Polymyalgia rheumatica often occurs in association with giant cell arteritis.
- Rheumatoid vasculitis. This type of vasculitis can complicate the course of rheumatoid arthritis and usually occurs in people with a history of severe rheumatoid arthritis. Many different parts of the body, including the eyes, skin, hands and feet may be involved.
- Takayasu's arteritis. This form of vasculitis includes the largest arteries in the body, including the aorta, and typically occurs in young women. Signs and symptoms include arm weakness or pain with use (claudication), decreased or absent pulses, lightheadedness, headaches, and visual disturbances.
- Wegener's granulomatosis. This condition causes inflammation of the blood vessels in your nose, sinuses, throat, lungs and kidneys. Signs and symptoms can include shortness of breath, nasal stuffiness, chronic sinusitis, nosebleeds and frequent ear infections.
When to see a doctor
Make an appointment with your doctor if you have any signs or symptoms that worry you.
References
- What is vasculitis? National Heart Lung and Blood Institute. http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/vas/vas_all.html. Accessed Aug. 26, 2009.
- Khasnis A, et al. Update on vasculitis. Journal of Allergy & Clinical Immunology. 2009;123:1226.
- Stone JH. The classification and epidemiology of systemic vasculitis. In: Firestein GS, et al. Kelley's Textbook of Rheumatology. 8th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Elsevier; 2008. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/156758625-2/0/1807/0.html. Accessed Aug. 26, 2009.
- Vasculitis. American College of Rheumatology. http://www.rheumatology.org/public/factsheets/diseases_and_conditions/vasculitis.asp. Accessed Aug. 26, 2009.
- Questions to ask your doctor. Vasculitis Foundation. http://www.vasculitisfoundation.org/vasculitisquestionstoaskyourdoctor. Accessed Aug. 26, 2009.
- Chang-Miller A (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Scottsdale/Phoenix, Ariz. Sept. 2, 2009.
- Lee RW, et al. Novel therapies for anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-associated vasculitis. Drugs. 2008;68:747.
- Search of mycophenolate and vasculitis. ClinicalTrials.gov. http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/results?term=mycophenolate+and+vasculitis. Accessed Sept. 4, 2009.
