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Updated: Oct 8, 2025
Multifocal Electroretinograms
Published on: December 4, 2011
The Influence of Coronary Heart Disease on Retinal Electrophysiological Examination (Full-field, Pattern and
Jascha Wendelstein1,2, Barbara Fuchs1,2, Annika Reffken3
1Department of Ophthalmology and Optometry, Kepler University Hospital, Linz, Austria.
Insights
Coronary heart disease (CHD) impacts retinal function, affecting cone and bipolar cells. Electrophysiological retinal signals can detect these changes, differentiating CHD patients from healthy individuals.
Area of Science:
- Ophthalmology
- Cardiology
- Electrophysiology
Background:
- Coronary heart disease (CHD) is a significant global health concern.
- Ocular manifestations of systemic diseases are increasingly recognized.
- Retinal electrophysiology offers objective measures of visual pathway function.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the effect of coronary heart disease (CHD) on retinal function.
- To utilize electrophysiological measures to assess visual pathway integrity in CHD patients.
Main Methods:
- Prospective pilot study comparing 34 CHD patients with 21 healthy controls.
- Inclusion criteria: visual acuity ≥0.8, age 40-80 years.
- Electrophysiological tests included pattern ERG, full-field ERG, and multifocal ERG.
Main Results:
- Scotopic full-field ERG showed significantly prolonged b-wave implicit times in all CHD groups (p < .000).
- Multifocal ERG revealed significantly different amplitude densities in CHD patients compared to controls (p < .008).
- CHD significantly impacted cone-pathway function, but severity did not correlate with cone cell deficiencies.
Conclusions:
- Electrophysiological retinal signals can detect functional deficits in macular cone and bipolar cells associated with coronary vascular diseases.
- Full-field ERG is a potential tool for differentiating CHD patients from healthy individuals.
- CHD affects retinal cell function, highlighting the link between cardiovascular and ocular health.
Purpose:
To evaluate the influence of coronary heart disease (CHD) on retinal function using a battery of electrophysiological measures.
Materials And Methods:
We conducted a prospective pilot study comparing 34 patients with a confirmed diagnosis of CHD with 21 healthy participants. Further inclusion criteria were a decimal visual acuity (VA) of 0.8 or better and patient age between 40 and 80 years. All participants were divided into three groups according to the severity of CHD (1, 2 or 3 vessels involved) and one healthy control group. Testing was performed on one eye per patient, either selecting the eye with higher VA or, when equal, selecting randomly. The test procedure consisted of a pattern electroretinogram (ERG), a full-field ERG, a multifocal ERG and an ophthalmic screening examination.
Results:
Implicit times of the b-wave measured using scotopic full-field ERG were significantly prolonged in all CHD patient groups (p < .000). Thus, full-field ERG allowed clinicians to differentiate between healthy patients and those suffering from CHD. The multifocal ERG showed significantly different results concerning the amplitude density (p < .008) in each patient group compared with the control group. CHD had a significant impact on cone-pathway function, although the severity of CHD did not correlate with functional deficiencies of cone cells.
Conclusions:
Confirmed coronary vascular diseases are correlated with macular cone and bipolar cell function, which can be detected by measuring electrophysiological retinal signals.
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