Fast Facts
- Vasculitis can range from mild to life-threatening.
- Early detection and treatment of severe vasculitis can prevent permanent damage. Detection of vasculitis most often requires blood tests, biopsy of affected tissue or angiography.
- Vasculitic diseases are inflammatory health problems that often need treatment with medications such as glucocorticoids.
- Patients also may be prescribed other medicines that suppress the immune system. These can help severe disease or let patients take lower doses of glucocorticoids.
Vasculitis can result in poor blood flow to tissues throughout the body, such as the lungs, nerves and skin. Thus, vasculitis has a wide range of signs and symptoms (what you see and feel), such as:
- Shortness of breath and cough
- Numbness or weakness in a hand or foot
- Red spots on the skin (“purpura”), lumps (“nodules”) or sores (“ulcers”)
For more information: https://www.rheumatology.org/I-Am-A/Patient-Caregiver/Diseases-Conditions/VasculitisArthritis