Overview of Raynaud's in Systemic Scleroderma

Raynaud's in Scleroderma is a vascular disorder commonly found in scleroderma. It is an extreme spasm of blood vessels in response to cold or stress. The fingers and/or toes become white and/or blue, and may become red on re-warming.

Raynaud's by itself is called primary Raynaud's, with other autoimmune diseases it is called Raynaud's Phenomenon or Secondary Raynaud's.

In primary Raynaud's, the blood vessels return to normal after an attack, in Raynaud's Phenomenon, or secondary Raynaud's there may be blood vessel scarring which can make medication ultimately ineffective. Digital finger ulcers can result.

As Raynaud's progresses slight drops in temperature may trigger attacks with a longer duration.

Raynaud's in scleroderma can become severe and require amputation of fingers and/or toes so keeping aggressively warm and promptly treating all Raynaud's attacks is essential for all people with scleroderma.

Presented by Amanda Thorpe on behalf of the nonprofit International Scleroderma Network at sclero.org.

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• scleroderma
• systemic sclerosis
• spasm of blood vessels
• white fingers
• blue fingers
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