Acute blood pressure elevation can mimic arteriographic appearance of cerebral vasculitis--(a postpartum case with relative hypertension).

A 35-year-old woman presented 9 days postpartum with severe headache, arterial hypertension, and left parietal symptoms. A cerebral angiogram revealed widespread irregular areas of narrowing and dilatation, highly suggestive of vasculitis. The hypertension was treated successfully. A repeat angiogram 9 days later was almost completely normal. As this course is inconsistent with isolated cerebral vasculitis, and because the angiogram normalized with antihypertensive therapy, it is likely that the angiographic findings were secondary to hypertension. Experimental data in fact show that acute hypertension can produce areas of cerebrovascular spasm and dilatation. Recognition that angiographic findings suggestive of cerebral vasculitis are nonspecific and may be due to hypertension should prevent unnecessary treatment for vasculitis in such patients.