Vasculitis (Print Version)

Also called: Also called: Angiitis

Vasculitis is an inflammation of the blood vessels. It happens when the body's immune system attacks the blood vessel by mistake. The cause is often unknown. Vasculitis can affect arteries, veins and capillaries. Arteries are vessels that carry blood from the heart to the body's organs. Veins are the vessels that carry blood back to the heart. Capillaries are tiny blood vessels that connect the small arteries and veins.

When a blood vessel becomes inflamed, it can

Narrow, making it more difficult for blood to get through
Close off completely so that blood can't get through
Stretch and weaken so much that it bulges and may burst and cause dangerous bleeding inside the body

Symptoms of vasculitis can vary, but usually include fever, swelling and a general sense of feeling ill. The main goal of treatment is to stop the inflammation. Steroids and other medicines to stop inflammation are often helpful.

National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute

Start Here

Vasculitis(National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute) - http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/vas/vas_whatis.html
Vasculitis(Patient Education Institute) - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/tutorials/vasculitis/htm/index.htm
Also available in Spanish http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/spanish/tutorials/vasculitisspanish/htm/index.htm
Vasculitis Syndromes of the Central and Peripheral Nervous Systems(National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke) - Short Summary - http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/vasculitis/vasculitis.htm

Overviews

JAMA Patient Page: Vasculitis(American Medical Association) - http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/reprint/298/6/706.pdf
Also available in Spanish http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/data/298/6/706/DC1/1
Vasculitis(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/vasculitis/DS00513/DSECTION=all&METHOD=print
Vasculitis Center: Frequently Asked Questions(Johns Hopkins Vasculitis Center) - http://vasculitis.med.jhu.edu/faqs/faqs.html
Vasculitis Syndromes of the Central and Peripheral Nervous Systems(National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke) - http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/vasculitis/detail_vasculitis.htm

Diagnosis/Symptoms

Computed Tomography Angiography (CTA)(American College of Radiology, Radiological Society of North America) - http://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/info.cfm?pg=angioct
Also available in Spanish http://www.radiologyinfo.org/sp/info.cfm?pg=angioct
MR Angiography (MRA)(American College of Radiology, Radiological Society of North America) - http://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/info.cfm?pg=angiomr
Also available in Spanish http://www.radiologyinfo.org/sp/info.cfm?pg=angiomr&bhcp=1
Ultrasound - Vascular(American College of Radiology, Radiological Society of North America) - http://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/info.cfm?pg=vascularus&bhcp=1
Also available in Spanish http://www.radiologyinfo.org/sp/info.cfm?pg=vascularus
What Is Vasculitis: Diagnosis(Johns Hopkins Vasculitis Center) - http://vasculitis.med.jhu.edu/whatis/diagnosis.html
What Is Vasculitis: Symptoms(Johns Hopkins Vasculitis Center) - http://vasculitis.med.jhu.edu/whatis/symptoms.html

Treatment

Vasculitis Treatments(Johns Hopkins Vasculitis Center) - http://vasculitis.med.jhu.edu/treatments/treatments.html

Specific Conditions

Buerger's Disease(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/buergers-disease/DS00807/DSECTION=all&METHOD=print
Central Nervous System Vasculitis(Johns Hopkins University) - http://vasculitis.med.jhu.edu/typesof/cns.html
Churg-Strauss Syndrome(Johns Hopkins Vasculitis Center) - http://vasculitis.med.jhu.edu/typesof/churgstrauss.html
Cryoglobulinemia(Johns Hopkins Vasculitis Center) - http://vasculitis.med.jhu.edu/typesof/cryoglobulinemia.html
Microscopic Polyangiitis(Johns Hopkins Vasculitis Center) - http://vasculitis.med.jhu.edu/typesof/polyangiitis.html
Polyarteritis Nodosa(Johns Hopkins Vasculitis Center) - http://vasculitis.med.jhu.edu/typesof/polyarteritis.html
Rheumatoid Vasculitis(Johns Hopkins Vasculitis Center) - http://vasculitis.med.jhu.edu/typesof/rheumatoid.html
Takayasu's Arteritis(Johns Hopkins University) - http://vasculitis.med.jhu.edu/typesof/takayasu.html

Related Issues

Immune System and Its Link to Rheumatic Diseases(American College of Rheumatology) - http://www.rheumatology.org/public/factsheets/diseases_and_conditions/immunesystem.asp
Vascular Pain(Cleveland Clinic Foundation) - http://my.clevelandclinic.org/services/pain_management/hic_vascular_pain.aspx
Vasculitis(Lupus Foundation of America) - http://www.lupus.org/webmodules/webarticlesnet/templates/new_learnaffects.aspx?articleid=2283&zoneid=526

Tutorials

Vasculitis(Patient Education Institute) - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/tutorials/vasculitis/htm/index.htm
Also available in Spanish http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/spanish/tutorials/vasculitisspanish/htm/index.htm

Anatomy/Physiology

Atlas of the Body: The Circulatory System -- Arterial(American Medical Association) - http://www.medem.com/medlib/article/ZZZ2O6756JC
Atlas of the Body: The Circulatory System -- Venous(American Medical Association) - http://www.medem.com/medlib/article/ZZZG57C56JC

Clinical Trials

ClinicalTrials.gov: Vasculitis(National Institutes of Health) - http://clinicaltrials.gov/search/open/condition=%22Vasculitis%22

Journal Articles

References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

Article: Experimental autoimmune vasculitis: an animal model of anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic autoantibody-associated... - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=19264905&tool=MedlinePlus
Article: Interleukin-17 and interferon-gamma are produced concomitantly by human coronary artery-infiltrating... - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=19255340&tool=MedlinePlus
Article: C7 is expressed on endothelial cells as a trap for... - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=19179470&tool=MedlinePlus
Vasculitis -- see more articles - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=search&db=pubmed&term=vasculitis[majr:noexp]+AND+english[la]+AND+humans[mh]+AND+(jsubsetaim[text]+OR+jsubsetk[text]+OR+jsubsetn[text]+OR+patient+education+handout[pt])+NOT+(letter[pt]+OR+editorial[pt])&doptcmdl=summary&cmd_current=Limits&pmfilter_EDatLimit=last+1+Year&tool=MedlinePlus

Dictionaries/Glossaries

What Is Vasculitis: Glossary of Terms(Johns Hopkins Vasculitis Center) - http://vasculitis.med.jhu.edu/whatis/glossary.html

Directories

AVF Member Directory(American Venous Forum) - http://veinforum.org/index.php?page=find-a-doctor

Organizations

American Autoimmune Related Diseases Association - http://www.aarda.org/
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute - http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases - http://www3.niaid.nih.gov/
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke - http://www.ninds.nih.gov/
Also available in Spanish http://espanol.ninds.nih.gov/

Children

Henoch-Schönlein Purpura(National Kidney and Urologic Diseases Information Clearinghouse) - http://kidney.niddk.nih.gov/kudiseases/pubs/HSP/
Kawasaki Disease(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/kawasaki-disease/DS00576/DSECTION=all&METHOD=print
Kawasaki Disease(National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute) - http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/kd/kd_whatis.html

You may also be interested in these MedlinePlus related pages:

Behcet's Syndrome - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/behcetssyndrome.html
Polymyalgia Rheumatica - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/polymyalgiarheumatica.html
Vascular Diseases - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/vasculardiseases.html
Wegener's Granulomatosis - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/wegenersgranulomatosis.html
Blood, Heart and Circulation - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/bloodheartandcirculation.html

The primary NIH organization for research on Vasculitis is the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases - http://www.niaid.nih.gov/