Prevalence of Takayasu arteritis in young women with acute ischemic heart disease

Objectives Takayasu arteritis (TA), a systemic vasculitis typically occurring in female patients aged ≤ 40, can affect coronary arteries and cause ischemic heart disease (IHD). In this study, we investigated the prevalence of TA in young women presenting with IHD in the Emergency Department. Methods We evaluated hospital records of 158,860 consecutive female patients aged < 40, who accessed the Emergency Department of our institution over 8 consecutive years (2007–2015). The prevalence of different etiologies of IHD was determined. Diagnosis of TA was established based on the 1990 ACR criteria. Results Overall, 1950 women aged < 40 presented to the Emergency Department with chest pain, dyspnea, palpitations, angina, heart failure, or cardiac arrest; 40 had acute IHD. The etiology was ‘classic’ atherosclerosis in 24 cases (60%), TA in 4 cases (10%), vasospasm and sympathomimetic drug abuse in 3 cases each (7.5%), coronary artery dissection and microvascular angina in 2 cases each (5%), Takotsubo and radiation-induced cardiomyopathy in 1 case each (2.5%). Discussion Although a diagnosis of TA is likely to be overlooked, TA is not infrequent in younger females presenting with acute IHD, a finding relevant to the diagnosis and management of these patients.