Retinal artery occlusion should trigger acute vascular ischemic screenings

Retinal artery occlusion (RAO) has a significant burden of co-morbidities, death, stroke, myocardial infarction (MI), and readmission and should be used as a clinical marker of future stroke and MI, according to a study.

A nationwide database was searched and instances 14,527 patients with RAO were identified, with a mean age of 69 ± 13 years.

The most common co-morbidities were:
-Hypertension (n = 11,839)
-Hyperlipidemia (n = 8868)
-Ischemic cardiomyopathy (n = 4826)
-Smoking (n = 4772)
-Diabetes (n = 4588)

Overall, RAO, 308 patients (2.1%) died, 1577 (10.9%) developed stroke, and 615 (4.2%) developed MI within 6 months. Approximately, 25% of patients (n =2841) were readmitted within 6 months of discharge, with the most common cause being carotid artery stenosis (n = 386, 10.8%)

Predictors of stroke included history of stroke or transient ischemic attack and Elixhauser co-morbidity index ≥3; predictors of MI included female gender, ischemic cardiomyopathy, carotid artery disease, heart failure, chronic kidney disease, and cancer. Predictors of 6-month all-cause readmission, cancer, chronic kidney disease, Elixhauser co-morbidity index ≥3, Medicare/Medicaid payer status, nonelective index admission, atrial fibrillation, and carotid artery disease.

Reference
Suri K, Majmundar M, Kumar A, et al. Outcomes and Readmission in Patients With Retinal Artery Occlusion (from the Nationwide Readmission Database). Am J Cardiol. 2022;S0002-9149(22)00849-9. doi: 10.1016/j.amjcard.2022.07.040. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 36115725.