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Can retinal changes predict coronary artery disease in elderly hypertensive patients presenting with angina?

Ghanshyam Palamaner Subash Shantha1, Yadav Srinivasan, Anita A Kumar

  • 1General Medicine Department, Sri Ramachandra University, Chennai, Tamilnadu 600087, India. drpssghanshyam@yahoo.co.in

The American Journal of Emergency Medicine
|June 29, 2010
PubMed

Insights

Retinal changes in elderly hypertensive patients with angina can help predict coronary artery disease (CAD). This screening tool shows moderate accuracy, especially in resource-limited settings.

Area of Science:

  • Ophthalmology
  • Cardiology
  • Geriatrics

Background:

  • Increasing prevalence of coronary artery disease (CAD) and hypertension in India's elderly population.
  • Need for cost-effective diagnostic tools in resource-poor settings.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To analyze the accuracy of retinal changes in predicting CAD among elderly hypertensive patients presenting with angina.
  • To evaluate retinal findings as an early screening tool for CAD.

Main Methods:

  • Study included 72 elderly hypertensive patients (>65 years) with acute angina.
  • Optic fundi assessed for retinopathy via fundus photography.
  • Coronary angiography performed to confirm CAD presence.

Main Results:

  • Prevalence of CAD was 40.8% and retinopathy was 30.6%.
  • Strong association found between CAD and retinopathy (P < .0001).
  • Retinopathy demonstrated moderate accuracy in predicting CAD (AUC 70.6%).

Conclusions:

  • High prevalence of both CAD and retinopathy observed in the study cohort.
  • Retinal changes serve as a potentially valuable screening tool for CAD in elderly hypertensive patients.
  • This method is particularly relevant for early detection in resource-limited environments.
Abstract

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