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sight problem may sometimes be the only symptom a person has of a serious cardiovascular condition , a novel case report suggests .
In the case , a 77 - class - old man in Greece experienced three inadequate episode ofblurred visionin his right eye . The five - minute episodes stretched over an 60 minutes in sum , and after each installment , his sight returned to normal .
Closeup of man’s eye
interested about this sudden problem , the man go to the eye clinic at his local hospital .
An eye exam record that the gentleman’s gentleman ’s vision was good , and the pressure within his oculus was normal . But when the military man ’s pupil were dilated and a doctor look more closely into his eyes , the culprit was revealed : Ablood clotwas block the blood provision in a ramification of his retinal arteria , which supplies blood to the liner at the back of the optic , according to the report of the man ’s case .
Such clots are typically made out of cholesterin and cluster of platelets ( blood cellphone fragments ) , and in the case , the clot fall from the man ’s carotid artery , the chief artery that bestow blood to the head and neck opening , said Dr. Ilias Georgalas , an assistant professor of ophthalmology at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens , in Greece .
But the bantam clot was a serious wellness problem — people with a blockage in the optic ’s cardinal or branch retinal artery have a high risk of a serious orfatal separatrix , said Georgalas , who care for the man and was one of the co - authors of the pillowcase report bring out online today ( Nov. 25 ) in the New England Journal of Medicine .
visual sensation problems and heart disease
The case highlights the fact that visual symptom can be a warning foretoken of a cardiovascular trouble , Georgalas told Live Science . [ 16 Oddest Medical Cases ]
The 77 - yr - old man had no account of eye problems , but he had high-pitched cholesterol levels and had been takingstatin drugsfor the past five years to reduce his cholesterol .
The man was diagnosed with " amaurosis fugax , " a condition in which a person mislay sight in one oculus , ordinarily for a few minutes at a prison term , because of an interruption of blood flow in an artery .
The clot in the humankind ’s optic was a fragment of a brass that had shape in the man ’s right carotid artery , and then move through his bloodstream and landed in one of the small branches of the retinal arteria in his eye , Georgalas said . This temporarily close off the blood supply to his right eye , which explains the man ’s blurred vision , he say .
Examining the heart is an easy way for Doctor of the Church to have a tone atthe vascular system of rules , the web of stock vessels in the body , which includes the arteries and veins , Georgalas said . It ’s very rare for a vascular trouble in other parts of the body to not be seen in the blood vessels within the centre , he said .
For this Greek valet de chambre , his blurred visual sense led doctor to detect that the lineage run through his right internal carotid artery was 80 pct stuff because ofatherosclerosis , or hardening of the arteries .
He take a carotid endarterectomy , a operative procedure that removes plaque buildup in a narrow down artery , and can prevent a cam stroke . Twelve month later , the man ’s imagination was normal and he had no oculus problems , according to the pillow slip .
For a relatively high number of people with severe carotid artery blockage , temporary ocular passing may be the only symptom , Georgalas said .
Any temporary , painless release of vision should not be ignored , he tell . The eyes can ply a respectable indication of a person ’s wellness throughout the body , and chew the fat an ophthalmologist can often be the first step in diagnosing more severe health problems , Georgalas note .
