Researchers say a simple eye test could help identify people at risk of a heart attack – as early as 5 years before cardiac problems develop. Scientists say it is due to changes in retinal patterns.
A team of researchers from Edinburgh University are due to present their findings at the annual conference of the European Society of Human Genetics. They say variations in rental vascular patterns may reflect the development of coronary heart disease, which is the main precursor to heart attack.
They say this could help doctors devise a screening process where a person’s heart attack risk could be calculated. The findings could also offer detailed calculations of a patient’s risk, allowing doctors to treat them accordingly, the Express reports.
Ana Villaplana-Valesco, a PhD student at the Usher and Roslin Institutes, University of Edinburgh, said: “We already knew that variations in the vasculature of the retina might offer insights into our health. Given that retinal imagining is a non-invasive technique, we decided to investigate the health benefits we could obtain from these images.”
The study used records available from the UK Biobank, which has medical information on 500,000 participants across the UK. The data comprises information about the blood vessels in the retina at the back of the eye with genetic data along with age, sex, blood pressure and weight.
Professor Alexandre Raymond chair of the conference, said: “This study demonstrates the importance of implementing prevention now, and how personalised health is providing us with the tools to do so.”