Researchers have found patients with transient vision loss have a markedly higher risk of major adverse cardiovascular events, including stroke, myocardial infarction, arrhythmias, and early hospitalisation.
The increased risk appeared within 14 days of symptom onset, persisting for up to 10 years.
The Canadian study, published in the British Journal of Ophthalmology,1 evaluated short- and long-term cardiovascular risk following a first diagnosis of transient vision loss.
Patients with an incident diagnosis of transient vision loss were retrospectively identified using the TriNetX research network and 1:1 propensity score-matched to controls with dry eye syndrome.
Primary outcomes included major adverse cardiovascular events, stroke, myocardial infarction, ventricular arrhythmias, venous thromboembolism, hospitalisation and all-cause mortality.
Study Results
After matching, 37,750 patients were included in each cohort. The mean age was 56.8 years in the TVL cohort (59.7% female) and 56.6 years in the control cohort (58.9% female).
Within 14 days, stroke risk increased over 21-fold (HR 21.7; 95% CI 13.4 to 37.4), major adverse cardiovascular events nearly 10-fold (HR 9.80; 95% CI 7.19 to 13.34), arrhythmia over fourfold (HR 4.01; 95% CI 2.72 to 5.90), myocardial infarction fivefold (HR 5.00; 95% CI 1.92 to 12.06), and hospitalisation nearly fourfold (HR 3.83; 95% CI, 3.52 to 4.17) compared with controls.
Venous thromboembolism risk was modest and transient, with no elevation beyond five years, and all-cause mortality was not elevated at any time point.
Among patients’ event-free at 90 days or one year, elevated long-term risk persisted up to 10 years for major adverse cardiovascular events, stroke, arrhythmia, and hospitalisation, the researchers said.
Reference
- Miller T, Xie JS, Margolin E, et al. Cardiovascular risk following transient vision loss. Br J Ophthalmol. 2025 Dec 9:bjo-2025-328605. doi: 10.1136/bjo-2025-328605.
