Prevalence of subclinical retinal ischemia in patients with cardiovascular disease – a hypothesis driven study

Abstract

BACKGROUND: (RIPLs), could serve as a biomarker for cardiovascular disease. METHODS: We reviewed optical coherence tomography (OCT) scans of individuals, with no underlying retinal pathology, obtained at UC San Diego Health from July 2014 to July 2019. We identified 84 patients with documented cardiovascular disease and 76 healthy controls. OCT scans were assessed for evidence of RIPLs. In addition, the 10-year atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) risk calculator was used to risk-stratify the subjects into four different categories. FINDINGS: = 0.02 and 2.9 vs 0.64, p 0.002, respectively). INTERPRETATION: The presence of RIPLs, which are anatomical markers of prior retinal ischemic infarcts, is suggestive of coexisting cardiovascular disease. RIPLs detection, obtained from routine retinal scans, may thus provide an additional biomarker to identify patients at risk of developing adverse cardiovascular events. FUNDING: None.