Medical Investigation of Retinal Vascular Occlusion

Abstract

The medical investigation of 146 cases of retinal vascular occlusion is described. In 40 cases the obstruction was arterial, in 106 venous. The ophthalmic features of these cases were similar in most respects to those reported in other series. In 56% of the cases, at least one important medical condition was present in addition to the retinal vascular occlusion. These included severe hypertension, ischaemic disease in sites other than the eye, temporal arteritis, valvular heart disease, diabetes, and carcinoma. The possibility that some of these conditions might be associated with retinal vascular occlusion is discussed. The number of smokers in a group of patients with occlusion of a retinal artery was significantly higher than the number in a matched control group.