Monday, October 7, 2013

Stroke Risk with Macular Degeneration

Dr. Leslie Doctor, a Fairfield County, Connecticut eye specialist shared that recent reports suggest that there is an increased risk of stroke in patients with late stage age related macular degeneration (AMD). What does your risk of having a stroke have to do with age related macular degeneration? Possibly quite a bit as it turns out. “Researchers presenting data from the Rotterdam Study at the International Stroke Conference reported that older adults with late stage, age related macular degeneration (AMD) may have a significantly higher risk for hemorrhagic stroke than do individuals without the eye disease,” said Dr. Doctor. “There may be a common underlying process contributing to both age related macular degeneration (AMD) and bleeding strokes, but more research will be needed to determine if that’s the case,’ she further explained.
 Researchers found that the risk for any stroke was 56% higher in participants with late-stage AMD than in individuals without AMD after they controlled for the effects of age, sex, diabetes, blood pressure, use of antihypertensive medication, smoking, cholesterol levels, carotid artery plaques, body mass index, alcohol intake, and C-reactive protein levels.
“The single most significant finding in the study was that participants with late-stage AMD-either the wet or dry forms-had six fold higher risk for intracerebral hemorrhage or stroke than did participants without AMD,” noted Dr. Doctor. ”This is a critical piece of information and one we need to be responsive to and keep patients and their physicians abreast of.” 

If you or someone you know suffers from or is concerned about age related macular degeneration (AMD), especially if they are concerned about their risk of stroke or have a family history of stroke please feel free to schedule an eye exam by calling Doctor & Associates-203-227-4113, visit Doctor & Associates in Fairfield County or facebook.com/doctorandassociates to schedule an appointment.

Doctor & Associates is a leading Fairfield County Connecticut eye care practice with offices at

129 Kings Highway North, Westport, Connecticut 06880, 195 Danbury Road, Wilton, Connecticut 06897 and 148 East Avenue, Norwalk, Connecticut 06851.