The signs and symptoms of Takayasu's arteritis often occur in two stages.

Stage 1

In the first stage, you're likely to feel unwell with:

• Fatigue
• Unintended weight loss
• Muscle and joint aches and pains
• Mild fever, sometimes accompanied by night sweats

Not everyone has these early signs and symptoms. It's possible for inflammation to damage arteries for years before you realize something is wrong.

Stage 2

During the second stage, inflammation causes arteries to narrow so less blood and oxygen and fewer nutrients reach your organs and tissues. Stage 2 signs and symptoms may include:

• Weakness or pain in your limbs with use
• Lightheadedness, dizziness or fainting
• Headaches or visual changes
• Memory problems or trouble thinking
• Chest pain or shortness of breath
• High blood pressure
• Diarrhea or blood in your stool
• Too few red blood cells (anemia)

With Takayasu's arteritis, the aorta and other major arteries, including those leading to your head and kidneys, become inflamed. Over time the inflammation causes changes in these arteries, including thickening, narrowing and scarring.

No one knows exactly what causes the initial inflammation in Takayasu's arteritis. The condition is likely an autoimmune disease in which your immune system attacks your own arteries by mistake. The disease may be triggered by a virus or other infection.

Takayasu's arteritis primarily affects girls and women younger than 40. The disorder occurs worldwide, but it's most common in Asia. Sometimes the condition runs in families.

With Takayasu's arteritis, extended or recurring cycles of inflammation and healing in the arteries might lead to one or more of the following complications:

• Hardening and narrowing of blood vessels,which can cause reduced blood flow to organs and tissues
• High blood pressure, usually as a result of decreased blood flow to your kidneys
• Inflammation of the heart, which may affect the heart muscle or the heart valves
• Heart failure due to high blood pressure, inflammation of the heart or aortic regurgitation — a condition in which a faulty aortic valve allows blood to leak back into your heart — or a combination of these
• Stroke, which occurs as a result of reduced or blocked blood flow in arteries leading to your brain
• Transient ischemic attack (TIA), which is like a stroke, producing similar symptoms but causing no permanent damage
• Aneurysm in the aorta, which occurs when the walls of the blood vessel weaken and stretch out, forming a bulge that has the potential to rupture
• Heart attack, which may occur as a result of reduced blood flow to the heart

Pregnancy

A healthy pregnancy is possible for women with Takayasu's arteritis. But the disease and drugs used to treat it can affect your fertility and pregnancy. If you have Takayasu's arteritis and are planning on becoming pregnant, work with your doctor to develop a plan to limit complications of pregnancy before you conceive. See your doctor regularly during your pregnancy for checkups.