Large vessel arteritis: a diagnostic challenge in the elderly
- Department of Internal Medicine, Hospital of Zumárraga, 20700-Zumárraga, Guipúzcoa, Spain; ejaaranda@hotmail.com
- Takayasu arteritis
- giant cell arteritis
- American College of Rheumatology criteria
- elderly
- differential diagnosis
Takayasu arteritis is a rare form of chronic inflammatory arteritis affecting large vessels, predominantly the aorta and its main branches. Those at highest risk are adolescent girls and women in their 2nd and 3rd decade of life, and this disease is most frequently seen in Japan, Southeast Asia, India, and Mexico.1 An elderly woman with Takayasu arteritis of late onset, an extremely unusual disorder in the Western world, is described.
A 67 year old woman presented with a two month history of bilateral forearm pain associated with coldness, numbness, and stiffness. She had claudication symptoms in the upper extremities, asthenia, and loss of 6–8 kg of body weight. She was hypertense. Physical examination revealed the absence of …
