ABSTRACT
Patients with thromboembolic disease and retinal artery occlusion are usually referred for cardiovascular assessment. Sixteen cases with branch retinal artery occlusion or complete retinal artery occlusion had been consecutively enrolled in our series. All patients had been subjected to careful history taking, systemic and cardiological clinical examination, resting 12 leads ECG, Transthoracic echocardiography, and bilateral carotid duplex. Transthoracic echocardiograph had revealed mitral valve prolapse without evidence Of intra cardiac masses nor thrombi in 68,75% of cases. We attributed this to the limitations of transthoracic echocardiography and to the dynamic nature of clotting pathology. Carotid Duplex was normal in all cases which were all relatively young population despite the relatively high association of retinal artery occlusion with mitral valve prolapse, the incidence would be still very low when compared with the high incidence of mitral valve prolapse in the general population. We recommend using transthoracic echocardiography as screening test in cases of retino vascular accidents and to use transesophageal echocardiography to assess false negative cases. We recommend using anti platelets as a prophylaxis to prevent recurrence in cases with retinal artery occlusion with mitral valve prolapse. To consider using oral anticoagulants to prevent recurrence in cases associated with evidence of intra cardiac thrombi