Eye stroke question

Question: What is an eye stroke?

Answer: According to Dr. Eleanor E. Faye, M.D., FACS, “The term “eye stroke” is misleading. The word “stroke” in diagnosing such an eye condition is not scientific and has other connotations related to brain activity that are scary to a lay person. Some ophthalmologists use the term as a simple (and I think misleading) diagnosis for an occlusion of a major eye vessel.

The occluding blood clot or spasm of a vessel in the eye cuts off the blood supply and causes the retinal area fed by that vessel to die off, which leads to loss of vision in that part of the retina.  

Most eye vessel occlusions are secondary to hypertension or some blood dysfunction. That means the person needs to see a medical doctor, have his or her blood  pressure checked and have some blood studies done to rule out a blood clotting disorder or some other blood problem such as leukemia. The occlusion is usually permanent but rarely results in total blindness. It is usually unilateral as well and has no other systemic effects (unlike a stroke in the brain).”


At Your Service, Rob Stemple, Daily American newsroom, P.O. Box 638 Somerset, PA 15501 or e-mail brianw@dailyamerican.com.

Rob Stemple is Community Outreach and Rehabilitation Liaison for Somerset County Blind Center (SCBC); a Division of the Susquehanna Association for the Blind and Vision Impaired (SABVI).  SCBC is working to make our community more aware of the relationship between diabetes and vision loss. Watch for info on this growing health problem in “At Your Service” each week. If your doctor has suggested you lose weight, avoid crash or fad dieting.  The best way to lose weight is to take it off gradually.  Reducing your caloric intake by 500 calories or increasing your activity level to burn off those 500 calories will reduce your weight by a pound in 7 days. A pound or two a week is a good goal.  Contact Rob Stemple at 814-445-1310 or send an email to rstemple@somersetblind.org for additional information.

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