title: Takayasu Arteritis of the Coronary Arteries Presenting as Sudden Death in a White Teenager.
abstract: Takayasu arteritis is a rare disease that expresses chronic, large vessel inflammation. The etiology remains unclear and its presentation depends on the affected arteries. With coronary artery involvement, manifestations range from chest pain and shortness of breath to sudden death. We report a case of a 15-year-old white girl who presented with syncope immediately before passing. On autopsy, all 3 major coronary arteries grossly contained multiple proximal lesions that were consistent with Takayasu arteritis, microscopically. Takayasu arteritis solely affecting multiple coronary arteries is exceedingly rare. This report discusses the significance of coronary involvement in Takayasu arteritis at autopsy and sudden death.
authors.affiliation: From the Department of Pathology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor; and the Wayne County Medical Examiner's Office, Detroit, MI.
authors.forename: Leigh
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Hlavaty
authors.forename: Francisco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Diaz
authors.forename: LokMan
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Sung
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D003331:Coronary Vessels / Q000473:pathology*; D003645:Death, Sudden / Q000209:etiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D013575:Syncope / Q000209:etiology; D013625:Takayasu Arteritis / Q000150:complications / Q000473:pathology*