2025 Clinician Corner - Amaurosis fugax in Takayasu arteritis mimicking migraine with visual aura

Abstract 

Takayasu arteritis is a rare vasculitis commonly seen in young women. Amaurosis fugax and headache are visual presentations of Takayasu arteritis. Migraine with visual aura is a common condition affecting young women, and differentiating migraine from Takayasu presenting with visual symptoms and headache can be challenging. We present a case of a young woman initially misdiagnosed with migraine with aura, who was later found to have Amaurosis fugax as an early manifestation of Takayasu arteritis. 

Keywords: Case report; large-vessel vasculitis; migraine; Takayasu arteritis 


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Faculty credentials/disclosure 

The planners and faculty for this activity have no relevant financial relationships to disclose. The patient consented to the publication of this report.

Process

Click the "add to cart/begin" button, pay any relevant fee, take the quiz, complete the evaluation, and claim your CME credit.  You must achieve 100% on the quiz with unlimited attempts available.

  • By completing this process, you are attesting that you have read the journal article.

Expiration date:

Credit eligibility for this article is set to expire on March 1, 2026.

Learning Objectives

After completing the article, the learner should be able to:

  • Include Takayasu arteritis in their differential when working up multivessel involvement in a vasculitis syndrome. 

  • Apply appropriate imaging tests to diagnose Takayasu arteritis. 

  • Recognize basic concepts of presentation of the disease. 

  • Apply appropriate treatment for active Takayasu arteritis. 

Key points 

  • Takayasu arteritis is a rare form of large vessel vasculitis that is notoriously difficult to diagnose given the nonspecific presentation and lack of reliable laboratory markers. Thus, diagnosis is often delayed, which can lead to complications depending on the involved vessel territories. 

  • Diagnosis of Takayasu arteritis relies on multimodal vessel imaging tests to demonstrate involvement of multiple vessel territories and absence of atherosclerotic changes in involved vessels. 

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Course summary
Available credit: 
  • 1.00 American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) MOC Part 2
    Successful completion of this CME activity, which includes participation in the evaluation component, enables the participant to earn up to 1.00 MOC points in the American Board of Medicine’s (ABIM) Maintenance of Certification (MOC) program. It is the CME activity provider’s responsibility to submit participant completion information to ACCME for the purpose of granting ABIM MOC credit.
  • 1.00 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™
    The A. Webb Roberts Center for Continuing Medical Education of Baylor Scott & White Health is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to provide continuing medical education for physicians.
  • 1.00 Attendance
Course opens: 
03/01/2025
Course expires: 
03/01/2026
Cost:
$25.00
Rating: 
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Anubhav Singh, MD1, Faiza Khan, MD1, Reniba Babu, MD1, Iqra Qazi, MD1, and Ahmad Qurie, MD2 

 

1 Department of Internal Medicine, Baptist Hospitals of Southeast Texas, Beaumont, Texas, USA 

2 Department of Rheumatology, Baptist Hospitals of Southeast Texas, Beaumont, Texas, USA 

 

Corresponding author: Anubhav Singh, MD,  4215 North Major Drive, Apt 720, Beaumont, TX 77713 (e-mail: [email protected]; X handle: @Anubhav97331834) 

Accreditation

The A. Webb Roberts Center for Continuing Medical Education of Baylor Scott & White Health is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

Designation

AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™

The A. Webb Roberts Center for Continuing Medical Education of Baylor Scott & White Health designates this Journal-based CME activity for a maximum of 1.0 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

 

ABIM MOC

 Successful completion of this CME activity, which includes participation in the evaluation component, enables the participant to earn up to 1.0 MOC points in the American Board of Internal Medicine’s (ABIM) Maintenance of Certification (MOC) program. It is the CME activity provider’s responsibility to submit participant completion information to ACCME for the purpose of granting ABIM MOC credit.

 

Available Credit

  • 1.00 American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) MOC Part 2
    Successful completion of this CME activity, which includes participation in the evaluation component, enables the participant to earn up to 1.00 MOC points in the American Board of Medicine’s (ABIM) Maintenance of Certification (MOC) program. It is the CME activity provider’s responsibility to submit participant completion information to ACCME for the purpose of granting ABIM MOC credit.
  • 1.00 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™
    The A. Webb Roberts Center for Continuing Medical Education of Baylor Scott & White Health is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to provide continuing medical education for physicians.
  • 1.00 Attendance

Price

Cost:
$25.00
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