| Category | Takayasu's Arteritis |
Takayasu's arteritis, also called TAK, is a rare disease involving inflammation in the walls of the largest arteries in the body: the aorta and its main branches. The disease results from an attack by the body's own immune system, causing inflammation in the walls of arteries. The inflammation leads to the narrowing of the arteries, and this can reduce blood flow to many parts of the body. TAK can result in a weak pulse or loss of pulse in arms, legs, and organs. For this reason, people used to refer to the illness as a "pulseless disease."
What is Takayasu’s Arteritis?
This disease is one of many types of vasculitis. Vasculitis refers to inflammation of blood vessels, and arteries are a type of blood vessel. In TAK, this inflammation occurs in the walls of large arteries: the aorta and its main branches. These blood vessels supply blood to the head, arms, legs, and internal organs, such as the kidneys. Inflammation may cause the vessels' walls to thicken. With time, this thickening results in a narrowing inside the artery called a "stenosis." If severe enough, such narrowing can reduce blood flow and result in less oxygen sent to the body parts or organs that the artery supplies.
Stenosis can cause symptoms (what you feel) and problems ranging from annoying to dangerous:
Stenosis occurs slowly with time, and smaller vessels may grow and expand to carry blood around the blockage. These new vessels are called "collateral vessels." Collateral vessels may help prevent major organ damage.
Sometimes inflammation in the artery weakens the vessel wall, causing vessel expansion rather than narrowing (stenosis). This expansion is called an aneurysm (a bulge in the artery). The aorta as it emerges from the heart is one of the more common areas where an aneurysm can form. An aneurysm in the aorta might lead to heart valve dysfunction or rupture (bursting) of the aorta.
