Ischaemic heart disease may predispose to pseudophakic cystoid macular oedema

Abstract

Purpose: Pseudophakic macular oedema (PMO) is uncommon following uncomplicated phacoemulsification and lens implantation and the cause of infrequent cases is rarely understood. This study was undertaken to determine whether a relationship exists between ischaemic heart disease (IHD) and PMO. Methods: Retrospective case note review was carried out of 177 (252 eyes) consecutive patients without pre-existing retinal disease who underwent phacoemulsification and intraocular lens implantation during a 12 month period. Patients with a post-operative best corrected visual acuity < 6/9 underwent slit-lamp biomicroscopy and fluorescein angiography to identify PMO. IHD was defined on clinical and electrocardiographic grounds. The incidence of IHD was compared in patients with and without PMO and statistical analysis performed using the Fisher's exact test. Results: PMO occurred in 4 patients (6 eyes), all of whom had IHD, whereas no PMO occurred in the remaining 173 patients (246 eyes) (p = 0.04). Conclusions: Pseudophakic macular oedema represents an important complication following modern phacoemulsification and intraocular lens implantation and is associated significantly with ischaemic heart disease.