M31.5: Giant cell arteritis with polymyalgia rheumatica

You have inflammation of arteries that supply blood to certain muscles and to your head.

Arteries are blood vessels that transport blood away from the heart. They supply all the tissue in the body with oxygen-rich blood. With this disorder, your immune system attacks the body’s own arteries. Arteries can become inflamed as a result. Inflamed arteries can get narrow.

When arteries for the head become inflamed and get narrow, you may get pain in your head, in your temples, and when chewing. The arteries that supply the eyes may also get inflamed. This may result in impaired vision or blindness, for example.

When arteries for particular muscles get narrow, the oxygen supply to the affected muscles may become inadequate. As a result, you can get muscular pain in your shoulder or in your hips. Muscles in your arms or legs can also get sore.

Additional indicator

On medical documents, the ICD code is often appended by letters that indicate the diagnostic certainty or the affected side of the body.

  • G: Confirmed diagnosis
  • V: Tentative diagnosis
  • Z: Condition after
  • A: Excluded diagnosis
  • L: Left
  • R: Right
  • B: Both sides

Further information

Note

This information is not intended for self-diagnosis and does not replace professional medical advice from a doctor. If you find an ICD code on a personal medical document, please also note the additional indicator used for diagnostic confidence.
Your doctor will assist you with any health-related questions and explain the ICD diagnosis code to you in a direct consultation if necessary.

Source

Provided by the non-profit organization “Was hab’ ich?” gemeinnützige GmbH on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Health (BMG).