Vasculitis

What is vasculitis?

Vasculitis refers to a group of conditions causing inflammation of your blood vessels. There are many types of vasculitis, some of which produce inflammation of larger blood vessels like your aorta and others that cause inflammation of capillaries or tiny blood vessels. Your symptoms and complications depend on the type that you have. 

In some cases, vasculitis can result in a lack of blood flow to the tissue. When this happens, the tissue starts to die. Often, the symptoms of vasculitis occur from dead or dying tissue in some area of your body. 

What causes vasculitis?

Vasculitis is a disease associated with your immune system. In most vasculitis cases, the inflammation occurs when your immune system mistakenly attacks your blood vessel walls, much like an allergic reaction. 

Sometimes, vasculitis begins as a side effect of a medication. It can also stem from an illness or infection, like hepatitis B or hepatitis C. 

What are the symptoms of vasculitis?

The symptoms of vasculitis vary widely among people with the condition. Your symptoms depend on the area of your body that vasculitis effects because of its impact on your blood flow. Some possible vasculitis symptoms are:

• Fatigue
• Weakness or numbness
• Rashes
• Abdominal pain
• Joint pain
• Shortness of breath
• Ulcers

Vasculitis often affects the kidneys. If this happens, you might not notice any symptoms at all for a long time. Eventually, you might see blood in your urine. Since vasculitis of the kidneys is very serious, you should book an appointment at Houston Kidney Specialists Center as soon as you notice something unusual. 

What are my options for vasculitis treatment?

The Houston Kidney Specialists Center team determines the best treatment strategy for your vasculitis based on your body’s part or parts that the disease affects. They monitor you very closely as you go through treatment to make sure the treatment is effective and that you don’t experience harmful side effects. 

As part of your vasculitis management plan, the team might recommend:

Corticosteroids

Corticosteroids reduce inflammation, so they’re a common treatment option for many forms of vasculitis. Your dosage, and the length of time you’ll need to take them, depend on your condition’s severity. 

Immunosuppressants

Immunosuppressants are medications that help control the immune reaction causing your vasculitis. Usually, they treat more serious forms of vasculitis. 

Surgery

Surgery may be necessary to repair areas of tissue damage from vasculitis or to redirect blood flow. If you have severe vasculitis of the kidneys, you might eventually need a kidney transplant to restore normal functioning.

To learn more about vasculitis and find an effective treatment, call Houston Kidney Specialists Center, or book an appointment online today.