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Fundus Photography as a Convenient Tool to Study Microvascular Responses to Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors in Epidemiological Studies
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Are retinal microvascular caliber changes associated with severity of coronary artery disease in symptomatic cardiac

Andreas Josef Kreis1, Thanh Tan Nguyen, Jie Jin Wang

  • 1Centre for Eye Research Australia, University of Melbourne, 145 Studley Road, Heidelberg, Victoria 3084, Australia.

Microcirculation (New York, N.Y. : 1994)
|November 22, 2008
PubMed

Insights

Retinal vascular caliber does not predict coronary artery disease (CAD) severity in symptomatic patients. This suggests the link between retinal caliber and CAD risk in population studies may involve microvascular factors, not macrovascular disease.

Area of Science:

  • Ophthalmology
  • Cardiology
  • Vascular Biology

Background:

  • Population studies suggest retinal vascular caliber predicts coronary artery disease (CAD) risk.
  • The underlying mechanisms (macrovascular vs. microvascular) for this association are unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the relationship between retinal vascular caliber and the severity/extent of obstructive CAD in symptomatic cardiac patients.

Main Methods:

  • 98 patients undergoing coronary angiography were studied.
  • Retinal vascular caliber (central retinal arteriolar and venular equivalents) was measured from digital retinal photographs.
  • Coronary angiography assessed CAD severity and extent using Leaman scores and vessel count.

Main Results:

  • No association was found between retinal arteriolar/venular caliber and CAD severity (Leaman score).
  • Retinal vascular caliber did not correlate with the presence of significant CAD or the number of diseased vessels.

Conclusions:

  • Retinal vascular caliber is not associated with obstructive CAD severity in symptomatic patients.
  • The link observed in epidemiological studies may relate to microvascular mechanisms rather than macrovascular disease.
Abstract

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