The following symptoms and complaints may indicate polymyositis (inflammatory disease of the muscles):
Main symptoms
- Symmetrical muscle weakness (especially of proximal extremity muscles/upper arms and thighs, or shoulder/pelvic girdle).
- Muscle soreness myalgias (muscle pain).
- Sclerosis (hardening) and atrophy of shoulder/upper arm and pelvic/thigh muscles.
- Affected individuals are unable to raise their arms above their head and/or have difficulty climbing stairs, standing up.
- Arthralgias (joint pain) – in 25-50% of sufferers.
Secondary symptoms
- Fatigue
- Fever
- Possible: Raynaud’s syndrome (circulatory problems in the hands or feet caused by vasospasm (vascular spasms)) (20% to 40% of cases)
Involvement of internal organs is possible:
- Esophagus (esophagus): dysphagia (30% of cases).
- Heart: interstitial myocarditis (inflammation of the heart muscle) (30% of cases) – tachycardia (heartbeat too fast: > 100 beats per minute) and changes in the ECG are possible.
- Lungs: alveolitis (disease of the lung tissue and alveoli (alveoli)), fibrosis (abnormal increase in connective tissue of the lungs) (30% of cases).
