Giant Cell Arteritis and Polymyalgia Rheumatica: Complications of Inflammation in the Elderly

Senior adults suffer from a variety of health complications that seem to only become more complex and varied as age progresses. For many in the elderly population, managing health complications often comes in the form of home remedies, avoiding visits to the doctor at all costs.

For those senior adults who suffer from complications associated with inflammatory disorders, however, the visit to the doctor is an absolutely necessity. With inflammatory disorders attributing to many complications of mobility and decreased quality of life, the use of associated prescription medications are often a necessity to improve these complications.

Rare inflammatory conditions such as PMR, Polymyalgia rheumatica, and GCA, giant cell arteritis, are inflammatory conditions that must be resolved with the assistance of a healthcare professional. As complications that involve inflammation of the arteries, many senior adults suffer from these health complications without realizing the degree to which the inflammatory condition may expand.

In most cases, the complication of PMR and GCA are concurrent. While the conditions are distinct in their own right, each creates a complication of inflammation in the senior adult and, more often than not, is diagnosed together with women more often affected than men at peak age of 70 to 80 years.

What are the symptoms of PMR and GCA? In most patients, the inflammatory complications present as pain in joints, especially in the morning hours with stiffness common in the shoulders, arms and hips and thighs. Beyond joint pain, the development of anemia, weight loss, fever and even depression are quite common. With biopsy of the temporal artery, complications of GCA can be easily diagnosed.

If you are a senior adult who suffers from complications associated with Polymyalgia rheumatic or Giant cell arteritis, it is important to know what the treatment options will be. Most often, the use of steroids, such as prednisone, can alleviate the complications of PMR within 48 hours. In many cases, the complications of GCA can be alleviated with higher doses of prednisone.