Kawasaki Disease can cause heart damage in some children. The younger a child is when they first have Kawasaki Disease, the more likely they seem to be to develop serious heart damage. About a quarter of all children in the UK with Kawasaki Disease go on to have heart damage.
The heart damage Kawasaki Disease can cause includes coronary artery aneurysms. You might have heard this term. You might have been told you have one or more coronary artery aneurysms by your doctor.
But what are coronary artery aneurysms? An aneurysm is a swelling in an artery. We’ve put together a diagram below to explain more including some of the terms you might hear a doctor using when talking about the effects of Kawasaki Disease and it describes how Kawasaki Disease can affect your heart.
Do I have coronary artery aneurysms?
If your heart was seriously damaged by Kawasaki Disease and you have coronary artery aneurysms, you will almost certainly know this and you’ll probably be taking regular medicine (such as daily aspirin or other daily medicines to reduce the risk of blood clots called anticoagulants). Ask your parent or carer if you’re unsure but it’s probably unlikely that you have, if you don’t take regular medicines.
