On the stroke warning eyes

Swiss scientists have proposed the use of a simple study to assess the risk of stroke. It is necessary only to periodically measure the intraocular pressure.

This study is in the arsenal of almost every ophthalmologist. According to the medical journal Ophthalmology, the effectiveness of this technique assessed a group of specialists under the direction of Pascal Bruno Knecht from the University of Zurich.

To participate in the experiment, Dr. Knecht and his colleagues selected 67 patients, most of whom had been diagnosed with narrowing of the carotid arteries. This state - one of the most important risk factors for acute stroke.

The scientists compared the degree of narrowing of the carotid arteries with the difference in intraocular pressure. Moreover, the intraocular pressure was measured in patients in different phases of the heart - systole and diastole. And it turned out that people with high risk of stroke (whose carotid arteries were narrowed most) Difference between intraocular pressure proved to be the smallest. Experts believe that this is a simple investigation, the ophthalmologist is able to detect narrowing of the carotid arteries with an accuracy of 60 to 99%.

Now for examination of the cervical vessels supplying blood to the brain, used such expensive and not always available techniques as Doppler ultrasound and MRI (magnetic resonance imaging). And they are often prescribed at the time when the risk of stroke is already very high (in severe hypertension, cerebral ischemia). A method of assessing differences in intraocular pressure, according to the authors of the study, can detect narrowing of the carotid arteries at an early stage, as long as the person has not yet appeared threatening symptoms.

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Treatment and prevention

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