Takayasu arteritis in China: a report of 530 cases.

A total of 530 patients with Takayasu arteritis were studied. Among 346 patients who were diagnosed by aortography, the female to male ratio was 2.9 to 1, and the age of onset ranged from 5 to 45 years. Three hundred and eighteen (60%) patients with secondary hypertension, including renovascular hypertension in 281, and 197 (37.2%) with pulseless extremities were found in the series. All the patients were treated with medical or surgical procedures. Surgical treatment is preferred if clinical status of the patient permits. The patients were followed for 1-29 years (average 7.8 years). There were 55 deaths (10.4%) in this series. Cerebral hemorrhage was found as a common cause of death. Five-year and ten-year survival rates were 93.1% and 91.1%, respectively.