Central Retinal Vein Occlusion (CRVO) is a condition in which a blockage occurs in the vein which carried blood away from the retina at the back of the eye. this blockage can be partial or complete. This causes blood and excess fluid to leak from the vein into the surrounding area of the retina, this in turn causes damage to the retina which can result in blurred vision or potential loss of vision in some cases. Most patients with CRVO develop it in one eye. There are two main types of CRVO, these are known as Non-Ischaemic and Ischaemic CRVO. Non-Ischaemic CRVO can be a less severe initial loss of vision, with a greater chance of recovering vision. In Ischaemic CRVO, the initial vision loss is more severe, there is lack of sufficient oxygen to the retina, leading to significant complications. Ischaemic CRVO is less common but can result in long-term vision loss. Central Retinal Vein Occlusion may lead to the development of various complications, these include high pressure within the eye (glaucoma), macular oedema, and growth of new blood vessels (also called neovascularisation)
There are a number of risk factors associated with Central Retinal Vein Occlusion, these include high blood pressure, high cholesterol levels, glaucoma or increased intraocular pressure, obesity, smoking, diabetes, age (commonly affects patients over 65) and patients with blood clotting conditions such as thrombophilia.
Central Retinal Vein Occlusion (CRVO) is associated with very sudden, painless onset of vision loss. CRVO can develop rapidly over a number of hours or days. In some cases, patients may also see floaters which present as dark spots, lines or squiggles in their vision, these floaters are shadows formed by small pieces of blood which leak from the central retinal vein and float in the vitreous fluid in front of the retina. A patient presenting with sudden onset, significant reduction in vision and floaters require immediate medical treatment by an Ophthalmologist.
Central Retinal Vein Occlusion is a clinical diagnosis based on medical findings and patient reported symptoms. In a fundoscopy, flame haemorrhages are seen, along with swelling at the center of the retina or macular oedema, which is also a common finding in patients with CRVO. Optical Coherence Tomography is performed to help to differentiate between CRVO and other conditions such as diabetic retinopathy that may mimic it and to assess closure of small blood vessels.
Only 10-20% of patients with severe Central Retinal Vein Occlusion (CRVO) may recover partial vision. The majority of patients presenting with severe CRVO do not recover vision and often deteriorate if left untreated, this is as a result of irreversible scarring.
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