Polyarteritis nodosa

Alternative names:

periarteritis nodosa

Definition:

A serious blood vessel disease in which small- and medium-sized arteries become swollen and damaged.

Causes, incidence, and risk factors:

Polyarteritis nodosa is a vascular disease of unknown cause. It typically strikes adults, not children. The end result of arterial damage is subsequent damage to the tissue the arteries supply. In this disease, secondary symptoms are a result of damage to the organs being affected, often the skin, heart, kidneys and nervous system.

Generalized symptoms include fever, fatigue, weakness, loss of appetite, weight loss. Muscle aches (myalgia) and joint aches (arthralgia) are common. The skin may show rashes, swelling, ulcers, and lumps (nodular lesions). Nerve involvement may cause sensory changes with numbness, pain, burning and weakness. Central nervous system involvement may cause strokes or seizures. Kidney involvement can produce varying degrees of renal failure. Involvement of the arteries of the heart may cause a heart attack (acute myocardial infarction), heart failure and inflammation of the sack around the heart (pericarditis).