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After you are diagnosed with vasculitis, it is important to follow your treatment plan. Your doctor may recommend additional follow-up care and medicines to avoid complications. If vasculitis responds to treatment, it may go into remission.

Treatment for vasculitis will depend on the type of vasculitis you have, which organs are affected, and the severity of the condition. The goal of treatment is to reduce inflammation. People who have mild vasculitis may find relief with over-the-counter pain medicines. For severe vasculitis, your doctor may prescribe medicines. Surgery to treat vasculitis is rare.

It may be possible for your doctor to diagnose the type of vasculitis that you have and how severe or advanced it is. Depending on your signs and symptoms, your doctor may recommend you to a specialist for tests or do diagnostic tests or procedures.

The signs, symptoms, and complications of vasculitis vary depending on which type of vasculitis you have, the organs involved, and the severity of the condition. Some people may have few signs and symptoms. Other people may become very sick.

Your risk for a specific type of vasculitis may be higher because of your age, your family history and genetics, infections you have, your lifestyle habits, medicines you take, other medical conditions you have, your race or ethnicity, and your sex.

Vasculitis occurs when your immune system injures your blood vessels by mistake. What causes this to happen is not fully known, but when it occurs, your blood vessels become inflamed and can narrow or close off. Rarely, the blood vessel wall may weaken, causing it to expand or bulge. This bulge is known as an aneurysm.

There are many different types of vasculitis that affect different blood vessels throughout the body.