ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION: Takayasu arteritis (TA) is an uncommon large vessel arteritis. Lesions produced by the inflammatory process can be stenotic, occlusive, or aneurysmal. Vascular changes lead to the main complications, including hypertension, most often due to renal artery stenosis or, more rarely, stenosis of the suprarenal aorta. AIM OF STUDY: Our study will assess the prevalence of hypertension during TA and describe its clinical profile. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Among 279 patients with TA resulting from single center study over a period of 35 years, we collected 128 hypertensive patients. All have benefited from a vascular exploration. Renal angiography was performed in 85 patients. The classification of Lupi Herrera allowed us to distribute our patients according to the topography of their lesions. Patients are classified according to the degree of severity of their hypertension. Results are statistically analyzed with SPSS 10.0 database. RESULTS: The prevalence of hypertension is 45.8%, mainly affecting young women (87%). It is indicative of arteritis in 24.7%. Its diagnosis is difficult and delayed when arterial stenosis exist: inter-arm blood pressure difference (53.8%), inverse coarctation (30.4%) or unmeasurable blood pressure at the 4 limbs (6.8%). In 54% of cases, hypertension was due to a renal artery stenosis. The presence of arterial hypertension was associated to a poor prognosis: it was severe in 54% of patients and was linked to 70% of deaths observed. CONCLUSION: Arterial hypertension is common during TA. It remains a factor of bad prognosis specially when renovascular hypertension is present.
