Cholesterol has blocked an artery in my right eye - will I regain my lost vision!
Question:
Cholesterol has blocked an artery in my right eye - will I regain my lost vision?
This loss of vision in my right eye appears as though I stared at a bright light for awhile.Have been to my Dr and Ophthamologist and on medication for high cholesterol and high blood pressure. Has anyone else experienced this? What happened? Needless to say I am totally freaked out.
Answers:
It's impossible to make a specific comment on your condition without knowing the exact diagnosis.
If your vision loss is from a retinal artery occlusion, recovery depends greatly on whether it was the central retinal artery or a branch of it. If it is a branch, there is some possibility of visual recovery. If it is central, chances of visual recovery are slim. If a retinal artery occlusion is diagnosed within hours, there are some heroic meausres (removing fluid from the eye, breathing high-carbon dioxide gas, high dose oral steroids) that might improve chances of visual recovery. If the ophthalmologist doesn't diagnosis the artery occlusion within 24 hours, chances for visual recovery are not good, and there are no good reliable interventions. There are some cases where visual recovery can occur over a prolonged period (years). The most important thing is to know what caused the artery occlusion, and to treat it: this is essentially a stroke in the eye, and the same factors put the patient at risk for a stroke (in the brain). Again, without knowing your exact diagnosis, it's impossible to know if any of this pertains to your case.
Good luck.