Coronary involvement in Takayasu's arteritis

Coronary involvement may appear in up to a third of patients with Takayasu's arteritis. This affliction may have a dominant impact on the clinical manifestations of the patient. Occlusion of the ostia of the left main coronary artery and of proximal segments of the coronary arteries is the most frequent finding of the coronary vasculature in patients with Takayasu's arteritis. Beyond the vasculitic process enhanced atherosclerosis has a significant and detrimental impact on the disease development. Revascularizations are often unsuccessful particularly when the inflammatory disease is not under satisfactory control. New techniques have been developed in order to use vessels that have not been damaged by the disease as grafts. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.