Ocular ischemic syndrome.: circulatory and vascular aspects

 

Mindaugas Variakojis1, Vaiva Mačionienė2

1 Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Kaunas, Lithuania.

2 Department of Ophthalmology at the Kauno Klinikos Hospital of Lithuanian University of Health Sciences

Abstract

Ocular ischemic syndrome, a rare circulatory disease of the eye. According to epidemiological calculations, there are 7.5 cases of the disease per 1 million population. Men are affected twice as often as women. The syndrome describes an incomplete arterial blood flow in the eye that is directly related to carotid occlusion. The main cause is atherosclerosis. Often, stenosis or occlusion of blood vessels is found in the internal carotid artery. Local circulatory obstruction causes blood to flow toward a vessel with less peripheral resistance. The process involves the arterial ring of the brain, the collateral circulation between the internal and external carotid arteries. In addition, the most important aspects of the pathogenesis of ischemic eye syndrome are singled out. These include the degree of vascular stenosis, chronicity, anatomical variations in the blood vessels, bilaterality of the carotid artery disease, related systemic vascular diseases. All this directly determines the clinical manifestation of the syndrome. It becomes important to understand blood circulation, to apply diagnostic tests, the effect of comorbidities.

Keywords: carotid artery disease, ocular ischemic syndrome, occlusion, collateral circulation, cerebral arterial circle, magnetic resonance angiography.