AORTITIS     

Aortitis refers to inflammation of your aorta. The aorta is the largest artery you have in your body and it has branches that provide blood flow to all of your body’s organs and tissues. As the aorta is a blood vessel, aortitis is one potential manifestation of vasculitis, or blood vessel inflammation.

SYMPTOMS

Aortitis symptoms may be different from person to person, depending on if they occur in the setting of an underlying vasculitis or an associated inflammatory or infectious disease.

In some instances, people with aortitis may not have any symptoms.

Aortitis symptoms may include:

• Chest pain.
• Stomach (abdominal) pain.
• Back pain.
• Headache.
• Vision changes.
• Fever
• Shortness of breath.
• Swelling in your legs.
• Pain in your arms or legs with use.
• Symptoms of inflammation such as decreased energy, weight loss or loss of appetite.
• Symptoms related to vasculitis affecting other blood vessels.
• Symptoms related to an underlying disease if this is present.

CAUSES

Aortitis can occur as part of an underlying systemic vasculitis or related to another inflammatory disease. In these settings, the actual cause of the underlying disease and the associated aortitis is unknown. Also, certain infections can cause aortitis.

Providers may find aortitis unexpectedly at the time of aortic surgery. When aortitis isn’t associated with another underlying disease or cause and it’s not affecting other blood vessels, this is called “isolated focal aortitis.”

Systemic vasculitis and other inflammatory disorders

• Giant cell arteritis.
• Takayasu arteritis.
• Cogan syndrome.
• Behçet disease.
• Kawasaki disease (almost exclusively affects children).
• Polyarteritis nodosa.
• Other forms of systemic vasculitis.
• Ankylosing spondylitis.
• Rheumatoid arthritis.
• Systemic lupus erythematosus.
• Relapsing polychondritis.
• Sarcoidosis.
• Immunoglobulin 4 (IgG4)-related disease.
• Inflammatory bowel diseases.

INFECTIONS

• Salmonella.
• Syphilis.
• Staphylococcus.
• Rocky Mountain spotted fever.
• Gonococcal infection.
• Tuberculosis.
• Hepatitis B and C.
• Herpes viruses.
• Fungal infections.

COMPLICATIONS:

In addition to the symptoms they have, people with aortitis can have complications, including:

• Kidney failure.
•  
• Heart attack.
• Heart failure.
• Rupture or tearing of the aorta.

HOMOEOPATHIC TREATMENT:

ANTIMONIUM ARS - Aortitis with inflammation of the eyes and puffiness of the  face and cough with mucus secretion

ARSENICUM ALB - Aortitis in the ulcerative stage

ARSENICUM IODIDE -- Chronic ioditis. Profound prostration and emaciation. Pulse is rapid

AURUM ARS - A best remedy for chronic aortitis and stenosis of aorta as an effect of syphilis. The first effect of this remedy is to cause rapid increase of appetite

CHINNIUM ARS - Aortitis with periodical asthmatic attacks which cause great prostration . It acts as a tonic with beneficial and prompt effect

CRATAEGUS - Aortitis with insomnia, anemia and extreme weakness. Sudden attacks of hemoptysis of frothy bright red blood and salty taste

LYCOPODIUM - Aortitis due to arteriosclerosis

STROPHANTHUS - Aortitis due to arteriosclerosis in the aged persons. It has a great beneficial effect on the heart muscles and valves