What is cardiac failure giant cell vasculitis?

There is no such entity as "cardiac failure giant cell vasculitis", but cardiac (heart) failure can result from a condition known as giant cell vasculitis. The other name for this condition is temporal arteritis and it is one member of a large class of diseases called vasculitides (that's vasculitis plural). The vasculitides are a number of conditions featuring inflammation of the small, medium, and large blood vessels. Giant cell arteritis is one of the vasculitides that affects the large vessels. It classically involves the temporal arteries near the forehead (hence its name), but can also involve the coronary arteries and aorta, leading to heart failure.

First answer by Diberri. Last edit by Diberri. Contributor trust: 160 [recommend contributor]. Question popularity: 2 [recommend question]