Differences in optic nerve head microcirculation between evening and morning in patients with coronary artery disease.

Abstract

To determine whether differences or variation of blood flow in the ONH are independent risk factors for CAD. We studied 144 consecutive patients whose ocular blood flow in the ONH was measured in the evening and morning by LSFG. We analyzed the MBR throughout the ONH (MBR-A) and in the tissue (MBR-T) and vessels (MBR-V) in the ONH. We also evaluated the MBR-T, MBR-V, and MBR-A values obtained in the evening and morning and the variation (Δ) between evening and morning values in each group. Twenty-three patients (16%) were diagnosed with CAD. The morning MBR-T and MBR-A values were significantly lower in these patients with CAD compared to the patients without CAD. ΔMBR-T in the CAD patients was significantly lower compared to that of the no-CAD patients. The logistic regression analysis was revealed that a high carotid artery plaque score, lower ΔDBP, and ΔMBR-T were identified as risk factors for CAD. Ocular microcirculation obtained from LSFG may provide a window for detecting changes in microvasculature related to CAD.