A study published in the in BMJ Open Ophthalmology stated that people who have a specific type of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) are at risk of advanced heart valve disease, carotid artery disease associated with specific types of strokes, or underlying heart damage from heart failure and heart attacks.

AMD damages the macula which is the centre part of the retina that is essential for reading and driving vision and is the leading cause of vision loss and blindness in people over 65.

The paper stated that this study is the first to identify the precise high-risk cardiovascular and carotid artery disorders that are linked to the eye issue. Experts were able to link a particular type of AMD, the one with subretinal drusenoid deposits (SDDs), to these particular high-risk cardiovascular conditions. 

The study analyzed the eyes of 200 AMD patients using retinal imaging to determine which patients among these had SDDs. Patients filled out a questionnaire with details on their cardiovascular disease history. It was observed that of the 200 patients, 97 had SDDs and 103 had just drusen. 47 of the 200 had a major cardiac condition (19 had heart damage from heart failure or heart attack, 17 had serious valve disease, and 11 had strokes stemming from the carotid artery). 40 out of the 47 people, or 86%, had SDDs. However, 57 SDDs (43%) were present in the 153 AMD patients who did not have these severe diseases.

The researchers thus concluded that AMD patients had a nine-fold higher risk of SDDs than people without these severe cardiovascular diseases and strokes.

(Source: https://www.hindustantimes.com/lifestyle/health/blinding-eye-disease-linked-with-cardiovascular-disease-research-101668917729357.html )