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Signs & Symptoms of Vasculitis Disease

Vasculitis disease, also called angiitis and arteritis, is the inflammation of the blood vessels. There are many types of vasculitis, as the disease can affect any blood vessels or organ in the body. Although cases of vasculitis in general have common signs and symptoms, some of these vary depending on the underlying cause of the disorder and the specific organs and vessels afflicted.

  1. General Signs and Symptoms

    • The most common types of vasculitis present flu-like symptoms such as muscle and joint pain, fever, loss of appetite and fatigue, according to MayoClinic.com. Loss of appetite and inability to exercise due to joint and muscle pain may lead to weight loss. Nerve pain, numbness and weakness in one side of the body are also general signs of vasculitis, according to The Johns Hopkins Vasculitis Center.

    Sinus Symptoms

    • Some types of vasculitis affect the ears, nose and throat, according to Johns Hopkins. Sinus symptoms include long-lasting sinus infections, hearing loss and inflammation of the nasal septum. Nose bleed and frequent ear infection are also associated with certain types of vasculitis, according to Mayo Clinic.

    Organ-Specific Symtoms

    • Depending on the specific vessels and organs affected, symptoms may include purple or red spots or bumps on the skin, hives, bruises, itchy rash, shortness of breath, abdominal pain, stomach ulcers, coughing blood, blurred vision, sensitivity to light and headache, according to The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. Vasculitis sometimes leads to heart attack and stroke, according to WebMD.

    Vessel Damage

    • Sever vasculitis can cause blood vessels to weaken and stretch, according to WebMD. This can cause the vessel to bulge. In rare cases, the bulging may lead to an aneurism (rupture) and death. In other cases, inflamed blood vessels may become so narrow that blood cannot pass through and cells begin to die. Vessel damage presents physically in different ways depending on what vessels are damaged. For example, one form of vasculitis, Buerger's disease, causes death of vessels supplying blood to fingers and toes, according to John's Hopkins. In severe cases of the disease, the tips of the extremities ulcer and need to be amputated.

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