Vasculitis Presenting with Lower Extremity Myalgia

GCA is an inflammatory vasculopathy involving medium and large vessels. Among the most commonly affected vessels are the temporal artery (“temporal arteritis”) and the extra-cranial branches of the carotid artery. However, GCA may also affect the aorta and its major branches, and thus should not be thought of solely as a cranial vasculitis. The diagnosis of GCA may be challenging due to its protean manifestation and the overlap with various rheumatological disorders (ie. Polymyalgia rheumatica). The importance of timely recognition and early treatment cannot be overemphasized. GCA represents an emergent neuro-ophthalmologic condition and temporal artery biopsy with immediate steroid administration should be seriously considered, in order to decrease the likelihood of irreversible loss of vision.