People who are living with age-related macular degeneration (AMD) are apparently more likely than those who are not to suffer a hemorrhagic or ischemic stroke, according to Medpage Today.
The article cited both Dr. Kamran Ikram from the Singapore Eye Research Institute as well as other researchers as saying that AMD sufferers appear to have a higher rate of suffering from a stroke (7.6% compared to 4.9%). According to the article, which cited “Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association”, the findings come as a result of testing that saw middle-age persons subjected to follow-ups.
Breaking down the findings based on type of stroke, the researchers said in the article that people with AMD were more likely to get an ischemic stroke than were people without the eye condition (6.4% compared to 4.4%). They also said that people with AMD were more likely to get an intracerebral hemorrhage than were people without the eye condition (1.2% compared to 0.4%).
According to the article, the researchers said that the findings shed more light on the link between AMD and strokes. While the findings suggest a correlation between strokes and AMD, previous studies have been less than conclusive on the subject. In fact, the article noted that previous research into the possible link between AMD and strokes have produced mixed results with some suggesting that there is a link and some suggesting that there is no correlation.
According to the article, the current study featured well over 12,000 persons between the ages of 45 and 64. All candidates were subjected to retinal photographs. Of the group, 4.9%, or 561 participants, were diagnosed with AMD. Of this total, 576 were in the early stages of the eye condition. The remainder were in the late stages of the eye condition.
Throughout the follow-up phase, the researchers discovered that 619 study participants had suffered a stroke. According to the article, participants who had AMD were more likely, to the tune of approximately 50%, to suffer a stroke during the follow-up stage.
The researchers added in the article that more studies are needed to ascertain whether certain supposed negative consequences stemming from antivascular endothelial growth factor agents are indeed accurate.
Source: http://www.medpagetoday.com/Cardiology/Strokes/32382