Retinal Artery Occlusion

A retinal artery occlusion is a blockage in one of the arteries that carries blood to the retina. It is usually the result of a blood clot that blocks either the central retinal artery (i.e., central retinal artery occlusion) or one of the smaller retinal arterioles (i.e., branch retinal artery occlusion). This most commonly occurs in patients with cardiovascular disease and can cause a severe loss of vision, which in many cases is irreversible. Because this is akin to a stroke it should be managed per stroke protocols to identify any risk to the brain or fellow eye. Patients should have an immediate stroke work-up to include evaluation of the heart, carotid arteries, and brain. Patients also need to be monitored regularly for long-term complications of retinal artery occlusion such as new blood vessel growth in the eye (i.e., neovascularization) which can be treated with either intravitreal anti-VEGF therapy and/or laser photocoagulation.