Takayasu arteritis in a middle-aged Caucasian woman: clinical course correlated with duplex ultrasound and angiography.

Takayasu arteritis, an occlusive arteritis usually involving the aorta and its major branches, occurs most commonly in young oriental women. The authors report the case of a 54-year-old caucasian woman with Takayasu arteritis who initially presented with the inflammatory manifestations of fever and markedly accelerated erythrocyte sedimentation rate. Over 2 months she developed evidence of vascular insufficiency with arm claudication, diminished radial pulses, and decreased blood pressure in the arms, suggestive of an occlusive arteritis. Arteriography revealed the typical findings of Takayasu arteritis, which involved the brachial and axillary arteries but spared the aorta and its major branches. Changes in the patient's clinical course were correlated with sedimentation rate, angiography, and Duplex sonography.