[Pulmonary artery involvement in Takayasu arteritis. A case of right ventricular failure as presentation form]

Pulmonary involvement in Takayasu's artery disease has been reported since 1940 with an incidence of 14 to 56%. However, the development of severe pulmonary hypertension is an extremely rare event in the natural course of the disease. The authors report a case of a 62 year old male presenting with severe congestive heart failure of recent onset. The initial evaluation and routine exams suggested the presence of pulmonary hypertension of unknown etiology. The absence of left radial pulse in the physical examination led to the performance of a complete angiographic study which confirmed the diagnosis of Takayasu's arteritis with pulmonary involvement and severe pulmonary hypertension.