Vasculitis

Vasculitis is when your body's natural response to injury, which is inflammation, happens in healthy blood vessels

About

Vasculitis refers to inflammation of your blood vessels. It occurs when your immune system attacks healthy blood vessels, causing them to swell. It is sometimes triggered by an infection or medication. It can be primary, where it occurs on its own, or secondary, where it occurs alongside another condition.

Need to know

Symptoms of vasculitis

Since there are many types of vasculitis, symptoms can vary, but may include:

feeling unwell with fever
sweating
tiredness
unexplained weight loss

Other symptoms depend on which part of your body is affected.

Diagnosis

Your consultant will speak to you about your symptoms and may perform a physical examination of the affected part of your body. They may request some, or all, of the following tests to confirm diagnosis:

blood tests
X-ray, MRI or CT scans
a biopsy, which involves obtaining a tissue sample for analysis in a laboratory

Potential treatment options

Treatment options may include:

steroid tablets
immunoglobulin injections
immunosuppressive drugs
new biologics treatment
plasma exchange, a procedure involving the separation and removal of plasma from your blood in order to remove the disease