CASE REPORT article
Front. Med.
Sec. Ophthalmology
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fmed.2025.1614489
This article is part of the Research TopicImaging in the Diagnosis and Treatment of Eye DiseasesView all 32 articles
Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome-Associated Blood Pressure Fluctuations Combined with Simultaneous Central Retinal Vein and Artery Occlusion
Provisionally accepted
- 1Graduate School of China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, China
- 2China Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital of Ophthalmology, Beijing, Beijing Municipality, China
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Background: Central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO) and central retinal artery occlusion (CRAO) are serious eye blood vessel problems usually linked to heart health issues. In this case study, a patient with a diagnosis of obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome (OSAS) but no traditional thrombotic or atherosclerotic risk factors experienced a rare co-occurrence of CRVO and CRAO. Case Presentation: A formerly healthy 42-year-old male came with dark shadows in his right eye and acute-onset blurred vision. A thorough ophthalmic exam verified simultaneous CRVO and CRAO. Later polysomnography showed moderate hypoxaemia and severe OSAS. The patient received integrated traditional Chinese medicine, perfusion enhancement, and intraocular pressure lowering as part of multimodal therapy. With notable retinal oedema resolution, post-treatment visual acuity returned to 20/20.Especially in patients without conventional cardiovascular risks, this case implies OSAS might be a separate risk factor for combined CRVO and CRAO. Intermittent hypoxia, sympathetic overactivity, and hypercoagulability are probably among the underlying mechanisms.Optimising management plans in idiopathic retinal vascular occlusions seems to depend on early OSAS screening. Moreover, this case shows the possible therapeutic benefit of combining pharmacological and conventional treatments in complicated ocular vascular disorders.
Keywords: Central retinal vein occlusion, Central retinal artery occlusion, obstructive sleep apnea syndrome, retinal vascular occlusion, hypoxemia Hemodynamic disturbances
Received: 19 Apr 2025; Accepted: 28 Jul 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Gu, Luo, Chen, Chen, Ju, Sun, Hao and Xie. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Xiaofeng Hao, China Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital of Ophthalmology, Beijing, Beijing Municipality, China
Like Xie, China Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital of Ophthalmology, Beijing, Beijing Municipality, China
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