t strokeidIt only occurs in the brain, but can also occur in the eyes. Medically, eye stroke is known as term retinal artery grafting. This condition occurs due to blockages in the blood vessels in the retina and can be triggered by various things.
Similar to stroke, eye stroke occurs when a blood vessel in the retina becomes blocked. This condition reduces the blood supply from the heart to the eyes and vice versa, causing visual disturbances.
Causes of Eye Stroke
Eye stroke can be caused by a blood clot that forms in the retina, or other organs that flow into the retina. In addition, this blockage can also occur when there is plaque that clogs retinal blood vessels.
Certain diseases, such as diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, heart disease, glaucoma, cardiovascular disease and blood disorders, can trigger eye strokes.
Not only that, there are other factors that can also increase a person's risk of having an eye stroke, including:
- Age over 40 years old
- Smoke
- Use of hormonal contraceptives, such as birth control pills
- History of eye injury
- Pregnancy
- Kidney illness
- Blood clotting disorders, such as sickle cell anemia
- Narrowing of the neck veins (carotid)
- Heart rhythm disturbances
- Vasculitis, which is inflammation of the walls of blood vessels
Symptoms of Eye Stroke
Generally, eye strokes only occur in one eye. Symptoms of this disease can appear slowly over a few hours, a few days, or it can be sudden.
Symptoms that can arise when a person has an eye stroke include:
- Visual disturbances that are usually not accompanied by pain in the eye
- Floaters, namely a vision such as dizzying or the appearance of white spots on the vision
- Blurred vision that keeps getting worse in part or both eyes
- Complete vision loss that occurs slowly or suddenly
If you experience these symptoms, immediately consult an ophthalmologist. Without prompt and proper treatment, eye stroke can cause a variety of eye complications, such as:
- Macular swelling, which is inflammation of the macula or the center of the retina
- Neovascularization, which is the appearance of abnormal blood vessels in the retina
- Neovascular glaucoma, which is painful pressure due to the formation of new blood vessels
- Blindness
Eye Stroke Diagnosis
If you are at high risk for an eye stroke or experience symptoms of an eye stroke, consult an ophthalmologist immediately.
The ophthalmologist will perform a detailed examination, such as asking for a medical history, performing a physical examination of the eye using an ophthalmoscope, and checking the pressure inside the eyeball.
In addition, other tests that are also performed to diagnose eye stroke are:
- Visual field test, which is an examination used to test peripheral vision or eye field of view
- Eye angiography, which is a medical procedure in which a contrast agent is injected into the bloodstream. Eye angiography is done to find out which blood vessels are blocked
- Optical coherence tomography (OCT), which is an imaging test used to detect abnormalities in the retina
- Slit-lamp, namely examination of the retina using a special microscope to find out various complaints or abnormalities in the retina
Generally eye strokes are caused by other diseases, so the doctor will also recommend that you undergo several additional tests, such as measuring blood pressure, blood sugar levels, and cholesterol levels, as well as heart tests.
Eye Stroke Treatment
Treatment of eye stroke is tailored to the underlying disease. Some of the treatments that are generally given by ophthalmologists in the first few hours when eye stroke symptoms begin to appear are:
- Massaging the area around the eye to widen the blood vessels in the retina.
- Give medications, such as blood clot busters, corticosteroid eye drops, and medications to lower the pressure inside the eyeball.
- Provide a mixture of carbon dioxide and oxygen to breathe in to dilate the retinal blood vessels.
- Removing some of the fluid from the eye so that blood flow to the retina returns to normal.
- Do laser therapy.
- Administer high-pressure or hyperbaric oxygen therapy.
In addition, other conditions that cause blood clots should also be treated. The sooner treatment is given, the greater the chance of saving your vision.
Eye Stroke Prevention
Although eye stroke cannot be completely prevented, there are things you can do to reduce the risk. These preventive measures include:
- Quit smoking.
- Controlling blood sugar levels if you are at risk for or are suffering from diabetes.
- Controlling blood pressure so that it is always within normal limits.
- Check your cholesterol levels regularly. If it's too high, go on a diet, exercise regularly, or take cholesterol-lowering medication.
- Maintain ideal body weight.
Besides, doing medical check-up and regular eye examinations to the eye doctor are also the first steps that can be taken to prevent eye strokes.Medical check-up need to be done to detect early on the risk of disease causing eye stroke so that it can be addressed immediately before eye stroke occurs.
