Causes And Complications Of Vasculitis

Smoking

A regular smoker may develop a certain form of vasculitis as a result of their lifestyle choices. The most common type of vasculitis regular smokers are known to develop is referred to as Berger's disease (thromboangiitis obliterans). Most individuals who develop Berger's disease use tobacco products or smoke cigarettes. The pathogenesis of Berger's disease is not currently known, but it is thought that the chemicals in the tobacco products used by an affected individual produce irritation in the linings of the blood vessels that feed the tissues of the peripheral digits. Another theory that may explain the development of Berger's disease in individuals who use tobacco products is that substances in these products induce an abnormal and upregulated attack by the immune system on the cells that form the lining of the blood vessels. The inflamed blood vessel linings in the peripheral digits produce swelling and cause the formation of small blood clots that restrict the proper flow of blood to these tissues. The result of this vasculitis process is often the development of gangrene and amputation.

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Vision Loss

The most common type of vasculitis known to produce vision loss as a complication is referred to as giant cell arteritis. Giant cell arteritis describes when the lining of the blood vessels located in the head become inflamed. Inflammation in these blood vessels causes these tissues to swell, which reduces the quantity of blood that is physically able to move through them. Vision loss may occur in a giant cell arteritis patient when the main blood vessel responsible for providing oxygenated blood to the eye tissues becomes too inflamed and swollen to allow an adequate amount of blood through. When the eye tissues do not receive enough oxygenated blood, they begin to shut down and die. It is this hypoxia that causes an affected individual to experience blindness or vision loss as a result of their vasculitis. This complication usually starts or only occurs in one eye and tends to have a sudden onset.

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