It is not easy to diagnose Horton’s disease at an early stage because the manifestations can direct the doctor to different pathologies. For this reason, the doctor asks the patient several questions in order to rule out certain hypotheses. He asks him about the symptoms presented and his antecedents. Then he examines the person who consults carefully, especially his temples.

benefits blood tests are performed to measure the extent of inflammation (sedimentation rate). Moreover, the presence of C reactive protein (PCR) will confirm the existence of inflammation.

The diagnosis can be confirmed by biopsy : under local anesthesia, the doctor removes a small fragment of the temporal artery in order to better analyze it. However, with Horton’s disease, the biopsy may be negative, as the lesions only exist in places.