What Causes Vasculitis?

Vasculitis is an inflammation of the blood vessels, but what causes the inflammation is often unknown. It is sometimes a side effect of the body’s immune system response to a recent or chronic infection. It also can be a side effect of the body’s response to a medicine. The body sometimes recognizes a medicine as a foreign substance, and may develop an “allergic reaction” to try to get rid of it.

Vasculitis is sometimes linked to other diseases, such as:

• Autoimmune system diseases. These are diseases that the vasculitis patient may have had for years, in which the body’s immune system mistakenly attacks the body itself. Examples include systemic lupus erythematosus (lupus), rheumatoid arthritis, and scleroderma.
• Blood cancers. These include leukemia and lymphoma.