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These types of investigations are not yet available in all hospitals. If someone has GCA, biopsies can show how serious their condition is. You can have this biopsy to confirm a diagnosis even if you’ve started treatment. You’ll be asked to sign a form to say you understand what will happen, and that you’re happy to go ahead with the biopsy. Your doctor will explain what’s involved, the risks and benefits. In this case it is from the temporal artery at the side of the head, but biopsies can be done elsewhere in the body too.Ī local anaesthetic will be used first to numb the area.īiopsies are carried out by a surgical doctor, but it’s a test and not a treatment.

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Sometimes, a temporal artery biopsy may be carried out.Ī biopsy is when a small piece of skin or tissue is taken from a part of the body and examined under a microscope. In the case of GCA, these scans can be helpful because they can detect swelling in blood vessels. They can show what is happening in tendons, blood vessels, joints and even organs. Ultrasound scans use sound waves to examine and build up pictures of the inside the body. Your doctor may ask for an ultrasound scan of the arteries around the temples and in the armpit, to help confirm a diagnosis.

CT scans create detailed images of what is happening inside the body using many x-rays. This can help diagnose GCA and see if there are any complications. You may be asked to have a chest x-ray to rule out other conditions.Īnother test that could be suggested is a CT (computerised tomography) scan. Blood tests can also be used to look for other possible causes of your symptoms. They will also be repeated over time to check that the inflammation is controlled. These tests can be used to help diagnose GCA. This is when artery walls increase in size and can bulge and become weak.īlood tests can be carried out to check for signs of inflammation. Rarely, if someone has had GCA or PMR for a long time, they may develop aneurysms.

Less commonly, GCA can affect other large blood vessels that could lead to pain when using the arm muscles or in the calves when walking. Serious problems can usually be avoided with prompt steroid treatment. If left untreated these symptoms can lead to permanent sight loss or a stroke. If you can’t get an immediate appointment with your doctor, contact an out-of-hours doctor, or go to the accident and emergency department at the nearest hospital straight away. If you have any changes or problems with your vision, or jaw pain while eating, you should see your doctor straight away. It’s usually temporary in the early stages. This may be partial, but it can sometimes be total. rarely, loss of sight, which can occur suddenly.flu-like symptoms, such as a mild fever.severe tiredness that affects your quality of life, otherwise known as fatigue.thickening or tenderness of the blood vessels at your temples.Headaches from GCA can cause pain elsewhere in the head too. headaches, often with severe pain and tenderness over the temples and the scalp – it may be painful to brush your hair or to shave.Most people will have some, but not all of these. People with GCA may have a number of symptoms. There are different types of vasculitis, because different blood vessels can be affected. The word vasculitis means inflammation in blood vessels. GCA is one of a group of conditions called vasculitis. But if it’s left untreated it can be very serious and cause strokes or blindness. This condition is treatable, usually with steroid tablets. GCA can also affect other large arteries and their branches that take blood elsewhere around the body.

When the condition affects this part of the head it can be called temporal arteritis.

This condition can cause pain and tenderness in the soft part at the side of the head in between your eyes and ears, known as the temples. GCA commonly affects arteries in the head and neck. Arteries take blood with oxygen in from the heart to different parts of the body. GCA affects arteries, which are the largest of the three types of blood vessels. Giant cell arteritis (or GCA) is a medical condition that can cause pain and swelling in blood vessels.īlood vessels are tubes that carry blood around the body.

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