Cor Vasa 2018, 60(3):e251-e262 | DOI: 10.1016/j.crvasa.2017.09.003

Large vessel vasculitis

Lucie Zavadilová^a,*, Ladislav Gergely^b

^a Kardiologické oddělení, Nemocnice České Budějovice, a.s., Česká republika

^b Interní oddělení, Nemocnice Písek, a.s., Česká republika

Vasculitis represents a heterogeneous group of immunopathological diseases, characterized by the inflammation of blood vessels leading to destruction of the vascular wall, subsequent proliferation and constriction, or even blockage of the lumen. According to their range, inflammatory changes cause various severe systemic manifestations such as loss of appetite, weight loss, fever of unknown origin, and night sweats; locally causing ischemia of areas supplied by the affected artery. The aim of our paper is to highlight the fact that vasculitis pose significant danger for patients, who may encounter significant delays in getting the correct diagnosis and management of their condition; and also for doctors, as vasculitis is relatively rare disease, its etiology is often unknown and pathophysiology has not been fully understood.

Keywords: Giant cell arteritis; Halo sign; Large vessel vasculitis; Takayasu's arteritis; Temporal arteritis

Received: June 10, 2017; Revised: September 9, 2017; Accepted: September 16, 2017; Published: June 1, 2018  Show citation