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Causes, risk factors of polyarteritis nodosa (part 2)


Bangladeshpost
Published : 18 Jan 2022 09:56 PM

Depending on which organs are affected, you might also have:

Heart:

• Chest pain

• Shortness of breath

Joints, muscles

• Joint pain

• Muscle aches

Kidneys:

• High blood pressure

• Protein in your urine

Digestive tract

• Blood in your poop

• Stomach pain

Nerves

• Numbness or tingling in your arms, hands, legs, and feet

• Seizures

• Weakness in your hands or feet

Skin (often on your legs)

• Bumps

• Changes in skin color

• Purple spots, called purpura

• Rash

• Sores

Risk Factors:

PAN is an autoimmune disease. Your immune system mistakes your blood vessels for a virus or other foreign invader and attacks them. This makes them inflamed, a condition called vasculitis.

When a blood vessel is inflamed, it swells and stretches. Its walls get thinner and thinner, like a balloon. This is called an aneurysm. Eventually, the blood vessel walls can stretch so much that they burst.

Swelling can also narrow blood vessels. Blood doesn't have enough room to move through them. When that happens, less blood gets to your organs.

Most of the time, doctors don't know what causes this immune attack. In a small number of people, it may be triggered by hepatitis B or hepatitis C. Other infections, like strep or staph, might also cause PAN.

    Courtesy: WebMD