Abstract
Retinal vascular occlusion not only threatens vision loss but is also associated with
other systemic risk factors and vascular diseases. Interdisciplinary cooperation is
of great importance in these patients. The risk factors hardly differ between arterial
and venous retinal occlusions, which is due to the special anatomy of retinal vessels.
Major underlying conditions associated with retinal vascular occlusion include arterial
hypertension, diabetes mellitus, dyslipidemia, cardiac disease, particularly atrial
fibrillation, or vasculitis of large- and middle-sized arteries. Every new diagnosed
retinal vascular occlusion should therefore be taken as an occasion to search for
risk factors and possibly adjust an already existing therapy in order to prevent further
vascular events.
Key words
retina - vascular occlusion - risk factors - embolism
