Eye test can predict heart disease risk
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The study suggests that scanning the inside of a person’s eye can predict the risk of early death. Scientists have developed an artificial intelligence program that can detect early signs of heart problems.
The study, which involved 88,000 Brits, found 54 per cent of heart attacks and strokes and 58 per cent of deaths from heart disease. Doctors say the test offers an alternative that is “non-invasive” and can be used to check heart health during regular eye exams. Heart disease is the leading cause of death, claiming approximately one life every 34 seconds, or
690,000 people annually. There are no guidelines on how often someone should be screened for heart disease.
But the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that all people over the age of 20 get screened for high cholesterol — a predictor of heart disease — at least every five years.
They also recommend regular blood pressure testing and checking blood glucose levels every three years. Tests are usually done based on age, gender, smoking status, and blood pressure to determine the risk of heart disease. Doctors also check cholesterol levels, so they require a blood test.
The new method used retinal vasculature imaging, which photographs the back of the eye to show the blood vessels along with the optic nerve.
It is used by doctors during eye examinations to check for health problems such as retinal degeneration and glaucoma, in which the optic nerve is damaged. A computer program has been developed that can read images and take thousands of measurements of the width of blood vessels throughout the retina.
Of the 201 reported deaths from heart disease, 50 percent were identified and 48 percent of strokes and heart attacks reported over a period of about nine years.
Dr. Alicia Rudnitska, the epidemiologist who led the study, says it provides a “better prediction” of heart disease risk than current methods.
In a related editorial, Dr. Ifi Mordi and Dr. Emanuele Trucco, clinicians at the University of Dundee in Scotland, said the new method was “attractive” to use: “Using retinal screening in this way would appear to require a significant increase in the number of ophthalmologists or specialists, received other training. What is now needed is for ophthalmologists to work together to develop studies to determine if using this information improves clinical outcomes.”
The method, called Quantitative Analysis of Retinal Vessel Topology and Size (QUARTZ), was presented in a study published in the British Journal of Ophthalmology.
Christina DENISYUK.
Photo: Khristina Denisyuk
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