Study: CRVO patients face higher heart attack risk

(Image credit: AdobeStock/Елена Бутусова)

A new Chinese study reported a strong connection between retinal vein occlusion (RVO) and myocardial infarction (MI), otherwise known as a heart attack.1 Study authors are led by Kai-Yang Chen, a medical student in the School of Medicine, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan.

Hoi-Chun Chan, from the School of Pharmacy, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan, and Chi-Ming Chan, MD, from the Department of Ophthalmology, Cardinal Tien Hospital, New Taipei City, Taiwan and the School of Medicine, Fu Jen Catholic University, New Taipei City, Taiwan, were study co-authors.

According to the investigators, both RVO and MI are significant vascular events that impact patient health and mortality. “Both conditions share common risk factors, such as hypertension, diabetes, and atherosclerosis,” they said, and because of that, they conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to determine the connection between them. They especially focused on younger patients with the goal of improving preventive measures and management protocols.

The authors searched PubMed, Scopus, MEDLINE, ScienceDirect, and ClinicalTrials.gov, and selected studies based on reports with an association between RVO and MI risk.

The investigators identified 12 studies with a total of 371,817 participants. They reported, “The meta-analysis revealed a pooled hazard ratio of 1.324 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.238–1.415), indicating a significant association between RVO and increased MI risk (p = 0.0001).”

A subgroup analysis of patients with central RVO (CRVO) showed a hazard ratio of 1.691 (95% CI, 1.142, 2.502, p = 0.009) with moderate heterogeneity (I2 = 36%), whereas branch RVO (BRVO) yielded a non-significant hazard ratio of 1.167 (95% CI, 0.843, 2.106, p = 0.444; I2 = 33%), they reported.

Chen and colleagues concluded, “Our meta-analysis shows a strong association between CRVO and a 69.1% increased risk of MI, while BRVO shows no significant correlation. Overall, RVO is linked to a 32.4% elevated risk of MI. Despite slight publication bias, adjusted analyses confirm reliability, indicating that improved cardiovascular monitoring for patients with RVO, especially those with CRVO, is essential to mitigate the MI risk.”

Reference:

1. Chen K-Y, Chan H-C, Chan C-M. Is retinal vein occlusion highly associated with an increased risk of myocardial infarction? A systematic review and meta-analysis. Int J Retina Vitr. 2024;10;https://doi.org/10.1186/s40942-024-00606-9