Abstract
Purpose :
Retinal vein occlusion (RVO) has been associated with incident cardiovascular events and mortality in observational studies, but the results have not been consistent. In this systematic review and meta-analysis, we investigate the association of baseline RVO with subsequent development of cardiovascular events and mortality.
Methods :
Eligible English-language peer-viewed longitudinal cohort studies in PUBMED and EMBASE were identified from inception to November 1, 2017. Exposure of interest was baseline RVO (branch, hemi-retinal, or central). Outcomes of interest were stroke (fatal and nonfatal), myocardial infarction, heart failure, peripheral arterial disease (PAD), cardiovascular mortality, and all-cause mortality. Risk estimates from individual studies were pooled using a random-effects model and results are presented as risk ratios (RR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI).
Results :
Fifteen longitudinal cohort studies consisting of 474,466 patients (60,069 with RVO, 414,397 without RVO) were included. RVO increased the risk of stroke (RR, 1.45; 95% CI, 1.31-1.61), myocardial infarction (RR, 1.26; 95% CI, 1.17-1.37), heart failure (RR, 1.53; 95% CI, 1.22-1.92), PAD (RR, 1.26; 95% CI, 1.09-1.46), and all-cause mortality (RR, 1.36; 95% CI, 1.02-1.81), but did not increase risk of cardiovascular mortality (RR, 1.78; 95% CI, 0.70-4.48).
Conclusions :
Patients who develop RVO are at increased risk for stroke, myocardial infarction, heart failure, PAD, and all-cause mortality. Immediate referral for cardiovascular evaluation and intervention is crucial in patients diagnosed with RVO.
This is an abstract that was submitted for the 2018 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Honolulu, Hawaii, April 29 - May 3, 2018.