Cardio Retinometry - What Is It?

Vitamin C and Heart Disease

Cardio Retinometry by definition, is a method of studying heart disease through the analysis of the eyes. It is a study that has been put forward as a possible preventative measure against the threat of heart disease, high blood pressure and strokes.

Using standard optical equipment for opticians, such as a fundus camera, patients can discover with very low cost treatment, the early symptoms via the study of small arteries in the rear of the eye itself. The belief is that when viewing these arteries, a link can be made between these arteries becoming thin and the onset of future heart problems. Currently, the best form of diagnosis is via an angiogram, which unfortunately is a measure only available when symptoms of arterial disease are apparent, moving treatment from being a preventative measure to being a case of repair.

Although it is very much a case study at the moment, and not a clinically approved measure, there is hope among a number of opticians that this may pave the way for a wave of low cost eye examinations which can in the long run offer help in early diagnosis of many heart complaints, and in turn extend and prolong many lives. One of the treatments put forward, once early detection has been made, is that of a large vitamin C boost to the system, which some studies have shown a thickening of the eyes small arteries, in turn preventing heart disease occuring.

Clementine by Petr Kratochvil (Image)