phenprocoumon and Retinal-Artery-Occlusion

Ophthalmic complications due to heart tumors are rare.. This case report describes two patients with ocular complications, caused by a suspected cardiac tumor. A 56-year-old woman with arterial hypertension had a severe episode of headache coinciding with an acute loss of vision in her right eye and left-sided hemiparesis. A 20-year-old woman noticed sudden transient visual loss in her right eye.. The 56-year-old woman had an infarction on the right side of the middle and posterior cerebral arteries and, simultaneously, a central retinal artery occlusion (CRAO) in her right eye. Echocardiography revealed a tumor in the left atrium. The tumor disappeared after treatment with phenprocoumon within a few days. The diagnosis of a cardiac thrombus was made. The 20-year-old woman noticed recurrent episodes of sudden, transient visual loss in her right eye. A branch retinal arterial occlusion (BRAO) in her right eye was diagnosed. Echocardiography revealed a myxoma in the left atrium. The tumor was successfully excised surgically.. In any vascular disturbance in the eye suspected to be embolic in origin, echocardiography should be carried out in order to exclude the presence of a heart disease.

Topics: Adult; Anticoagulants; Female; Heart Atria; Heart Neoplasms; Humans; Middle Aged; Myxoma; Neoplastic Cells, Circulating; Phenprocoumon; Retinal Artery Occlusion; Treatment Outcome

To determine the frequency of essential cardiovascular risk factors in different vascular ocular diseases. -. We compiled cardiovascular risk factor findings (RFs) from 416 patients with non-inflammatory ocular vascular occlusions in a retrospective study: 134 patients with BRAO, 253 patients with CRAO, and 29 patients with hemi-CRAO. 274 (65.9 %) male and 142 (34.1 %) female patients were examined. Mean age of all patients was 66 years (range: 18-90). The right eye was involved in 221 (53.1 %), left eye in 193 (46.4 %), and both eyes in 2 patients (0.5 %). -. Cardiovascular risk factors (RFs) were found in 243 patients. Three hundred and eight (308) out of 406 patients (75.9 %) presented with arterial hypertension. Hypertension was present in 96 patients with BRAO (73.8 %), in 197 patients with CRAO (79.8 %), and in 15 patients with hemi-CRAO (78.9 %). - RFs such as arterial hypertension, carotid artery diseases, diabetes mellitus, hyperlipidemia, hyperuricemia, and chronic smoking did not differ statistically between patients with BRAO, CRAO or hemi--CRAO. But visible emboli in retinal arteries were observed in patients with BRAO (47 %,), or hemi-CRAO (41.4 %), much more often than in patients with CRAO (11.1 %). -. No statistical differences between the RFs of patients with BRAO, CRAO, or hemi-CRAO were noted. We maintain that every patient with retinal arterial obstruction should undergo extensive examination of essential RFs.

Topics: Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Amaurosis Fugax; Anticoagulants; Cardiovascular Diseases; Cerebrovascular Disorders; Female; Humans; Hypertension; Male; Middle Aged; Phenprocoumon; Retinal Artery Occlusion; Risk Factors