Polyarteritis nodosa is a serious blood vessel disease that causes small to medium artery inflammation and damage. This in turn causes necrosis to the tissue they fail to supply with oxygenated and nutrient rich blood.
The basic cause of these inflamed arteries is a sporadic attack by certain immune cells. Why this occurs is unknown, but a few cases are associated with hepatitis B infection.
Symptoms of polyarteritis nodosa are caused by damage to organs affected by reduced blood vessel flow due to artery inflammation. The sporadic nature of this blood vessel disease typically results in some combination of inflammation to arteries serving the skin, heart, kidneys, digestive track and nervous system.
Therefore, symptoms vary depending on which organs are involved. A couple of its general symptoms are:
- fever
- fatigue
- myalgia
- arthralgia
- weakness
- abdominal pain
- decreased appetite
- unintentional weight loss
If polyarteritis nodosa causes artery inflammation of blood vessels to the skin then your symptoms may include:
- ulcers
- purpura
- nodules
- gangrene
- skin rashes
These symptoms most often occur on the legs and cause extreme pain.
If your kidneys are affected by this blood vessel disease, then you may experience:
Polyarteritis nodosa nerve involvement may cause neuropathy with sensory changes, such as:
Should your artery inflammation affect your heart, then serious complications are possible, like:
Some of the other polyarteritis nodosa serious complications are intestinal perforation, kidney failure and stroke.
Polyarteritis nodosa affects men at double the rate of women. And this blood vessel disease can be rapidly fatal or cause slow wasting and permanent organ damage if not treated right away.
Treatment is drugs to suppress your immune system, i.e. corticosteroids and immunosuppressants. Dialysis may be required if your kidneys have sustained damage.