Retinal vascular dynamics: A window for observing an irregular heartbeat. A case report

Microcirculation, vol. 31, pp. e12844

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: We aimed to characterize several aspects of retinal vascular dynamics in a patient with arrythmia in order to elicit additional diagnostic information on microvascular dysfunction. METHODS: A 68-year-old male patient with arrythmia and an age- and gender-matched control subject underwent ocular examination including dynamic retinal vessel assessment with flicker light provocation. Retinal vessel diameters were measured continuously following a standard protocol (IMEDOS Systems, Jena, Germany). The data were evaluated using methods of signal analysis. RESULTS: Retinal vessel response following flicker provocation as well as local structural and functional behavior of retinal vessels were comparable between both individuals. The arrhythmia case demonstrated irregular arterial and venous heart rate (HR) pulsation with an average frequency of 1 Hz. Moreover, the case showed a higher magnitude and larger periods of low-frequency retinal vessel oscillations as well as lower periodicity of both HR pulsations and low-frequency vasomotions. CONCLUSIONS: Besides numerical examination of irregular HR pulsations in case of arrhythmia, from the direct noninvasive assessment of retinal vessel dynamics one can derive more detailed information on microvascular function including the whole spectrum of retinal arterial and venous pulsations and vasomotions. This may have implications for health screening not limited to atrial fibrillation.

Authors 4

1. Rebekka Heitmar corresponding

   University of Huddersfield

   Affiliation as printed

   Centre for Vision Across the Lifespan, School of Applied Sciences University of Huddersfield Huddersfield UK

   Centre for Vision Across the Lifespan, School of Applied Sciences, University of Huddersfield, Huddersfield, UK

2. Paulus Kirchhoff

   Birmingham City Hospital · University of Birmingham

   Affiliation as printed

   University of Birmingham Centre for Cardiovascular Sciences, City Hospital Birmingham UK

   University of Birmingham Centre for Cardiovascular Sciences, City Hospital, Birmingham, UK

3. Andrew D. Blann

   Birmingham City Hospital · University of Birmingham

   Affiliation as printed

   University of Birmingham Centre for Cardiovascular Sciences, City Hospital Birmingham UK

   University of Birmingham Centre for Cardiovascular Sciences, City Hospital, Birmingham, UK

4. Konstantin E. Kotliar Aachen Department of Medical Engineering and Technomathematics

   FH Aachen

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Medical Engineering and Technomathematics Aachen University of Applied Sciences Juelich Germany

   Department of Medical Engineering and Technomathematics, Aachen University of Applied Sciences, Juelich, Germany