Late Diagnosis of Takayasu Arteritis with Cardiac Involvement: Case Report

Takayasu arteritis (TA) is an idiopathic chronic granulomatous vasculitis that affects aorta, its main branches and occasionally pulmonary arteries. It is more common in Asian persons, affecting predominantly young women. Clinical presentation is nonspecific at the beginning of the disease, while in the ischemic disease’s stage it depends on the territories affected. We present the case of a 26-year-old woman who was diagnosed as having TA. Multiple vascular abnormalities of aorta and its branches and severely reduced left ventricular function were present at the time of diagnosis. Immunosuppressive treatment consisting of prednisone and azathyoprine along with conventional heart failure therapy significantly improved her cardiac function.