ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To compare the incidence of glaucomatous optic disk appearance between patients with symptomatic atherosclerotic stroke and healthy individuals with normal intraocular pressures (IOP). SUBJECTS AND METHODS: 46 patients with ischemic stroke with evident lacunar infarction or large vessel atherosclerosis, and 93 age- and sex-matched healthy individuals, all with normal IOP, were included. Patients and controls were examined for the presence of high cup-to-disk ratios (> 0.5). RESULTS: Seven patients (15.22%) in the ischemic cerebrovascular disease (CVD) group and 3 controls (3.23%) had glaucomatous optic disk appearance. All subjects with glaucomatous optic disk appearance in the control group and 3 patients in the study group had visual field defects in concordance with normal-tension glaucoma (NTG). The incidence of glaucomatous optic disk appearance was significantly higher in the group with symptomatic atherosclerotic CVD. CONCLUSION: Atherosclerotic CVD is a risk factor for having glaucomatous optic disk appearance. Symptomatic atherosclerosis involving the brain vasculature may also affect the eye and lead to NTG. Patients with ischemic strokes due to large artery atherosclerosis or small artery occlusion must be examined and followed for NTG.
Subject(s)
Atherosclerosis/complications , Cerebrovascular Disorders/complications , Glaucoma/epidemiology , Glaucoma/etiology , Intraocular Pressure , Adult , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Case-Control Studies , Female , Glaucoma/diagnosis , Humans , Hypertension/complications , Male , Middle Aged , Multivariate Analysis , Risk Factors , Smoking/adverse effects , Turkey/epidemiologyABSTRACT
PURPOSE: To evaluate blood flow parameters in the ophthalmic artery, in the posterior ciliary arteries and in the central retinal artery in eyes with primary open-angle glaucoma. METHODS: Hemodynamic parameters were evaluated by color Doppler imaging in 48 patients with primary open-angle glaucoma and 42 age-matched normal control subjects. Peak systolic velocity (Pv), end-diastolic velocity (Ev), and resistive index (RI) were calculated in the central retinal artery, short posterior ciliary arteries and the ophthalmic artery. RESULTS: The analysis of the ocular blood flow velocities in the central retinal artery, short posterior ciliary arteries and the ophthalmic artery revealed a significant reduction in peak systolic velocity and end-diastolic velocity with an increase in resistive index in primary open-angle glaucoma compared with controls (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Our data indicate primary open-angle glaucoma to be associated with a decreased flow velocity and increased resistive index in the ocular vasculature.
