# Cardiac Surgery Patients Have Reduced Vascularity and Structural Defects of the Retina Similar to Persons with Open-Angle Glaucoma

## TL;DR

This study finds that cardiac surgery patients have retinal changes similar to those seen in open-angle glaucoma, suggesting a link between cardiovascular health and eye structure.

## Contribution

The study reveals structural and vascular similarities between retinas of cardiac surgery patients and those with open-angle glaucoma.

## Key findings

- Cardiac surgery patients showed reduced retinal blood flow and structural defects similar to open-angle glaucoma patients.
- CS patients had significantly thinner retinal layers compared to healthy subjects, correlating with vascular parameters.
- Temporal optic nerve head sectors in CS patients did not differ significantly from OAG patients.

## Abstract

(1) Background: Growing evidence suggests impairment of ocular blood flow in open-angle glaucoma (OAG) pathology, but little is known about the effect of an impaired cardiovascular supply on the structural and vascular parameters of the retina. This study aims to investigate the variations of these parameters in OAG patients compared to patients undergoing cardiac surgery (CS) with cardiopulmonary bypass. (2) Methods: Prospective observational study with 82 subjects (30 controls, 33 OAG patients, and 19 CS patients) who underwent ophthalmological assessment by swept-source OCT and CDI in one randomly selected eye. (3) Results: In the CS group, OA and SPCA PSV and EDV were significantly lower, OA and SPCA RI were significantly higher compared to the OAG and healthy subjects (p = 0.000–0.013), and SPCA EDV correlated with linear CDR (r = −0.508, p = 0.027). Temporal ONH sectors of GCL++ and GCL+ layers in the CS group did not differ significantly compared to the OAG patients (p = 0.085 and p = 0.220). The CS patients had significantly thinner GCL++ and GCL+ layers in the inner sectors (p = 0.000–0.038) compared to healthy subjects, and these layers correlated with the CRA PSV, EDV, and RI and SPCA PSV (p = 0.005–0.047). (4) Conclusions: CS patients had lower vascular and structural parameters in the ONH, and macula compared to the healthy controls that were similar to persons with OAG.