A Visible Eye Sign May Offer Clues About Heart and Stroke Risk

It takes years for cardiovascular disease to develop silently. Some of the processes that contribute to its development include atherosclerosis. This process is characterized by the presence of fatty deposits in the arteries that prevent the smooth passage of blood in the body. As the disease does not have any obvious symptom before an event happens, scientists keep on searching for physical symptoms that may serve as indicators for heart disease.

Recently, a research has been conducted to find out about one of the physical symptoms – xanthelasma.

What Is Xanthelasma?

This is the result of an accumulation of cholesterol and fat deposits in the immune cells found in the area surrounding the eye. These patches can be easily recognized, and the condition is believed to be benign both cosmetically and physically.

Xanthelasma has also been linked to high levels of cholesterol in the past, along with other cardiovascular risks. The question remains whether the xanthelasma condition itself indicates cardiovascular risk or just happens along with the risks.

Study Examines Heart Attack and Stroke Risk

Researchers at Stanford University evaluated medical data from 17,925 people with xanthelasma and contrasted their data against the same number of people without xanthelasma.

The contrast group involved people who were diagnosed with presbyopia, a typical age-related visual condition. This was done because individuals diagnosed with presbyopia would have been given eye exams, thus it would be possible to distinguish those without xanthelasma.

Researchers then looked into cases of major cardiac and cerebrovascular events, such as myocardial infarction, stroke, and TIAs.

Higher Rates of Cardiovascular Events Were Observed

For the first year, there was an occurrence of 1% heart attack cases for patients who had xanthelasma, as opposed to 0.35% for the control group.

The rate of strokes was also higher for patients who had xanthelasma. There were 0.95% stroke cases for the first year among patients who had xanthelasma, as compared to 0.3% among the control group.

There were transient ischemic attacks of 0.6% for the xanthelasma group while 0.19% for the control group.

Even though the percentage values were quite low, the difference was quite remarkable. This increased relationship was evident over longer follow-up periods like five years and ten years.

The Connection May Extend Beyond Cholesterol Levels

An interesting observation made by the researchers was that the incidence of cardiovascular events in individuals with xanthelasma did not differ significantly based on whether they had an abnormal level of blood lipids or not.

This indicates that hypercholesterolemia alone might not be sufficient to explain the connection between xanthelasma and cardiovascular events, and there must be other contributory factors involved in the connection.

What the researchers highlighted was that the study could not prove causation and it cannot be said that xanthelasma is directly responsible for heart attack and stroke.

Why This Eye Sign Could Matter

Xanthelasma is usually detected during a dermatological or cosmetic consultation due to the way it appears. As the plaques are visible, there is an opportunity for healthcare professionals to identify individuals who would need an overall assessment of their cardiovascular risks.

When assessing an individual for xanthelasma, a healthcare professional may decide to assess some risk factors such as cholesterol levels, blood pressure, blood glucose levels, weight, smoking, exercise and general cardiovascular condition.

If the risk factors are identified early, it will allow for preventive measures to be taken before any cardiovascular event happens. It is also important to know the early symptoms of a heart attack.

Understanding the Difference Between a Risk Marker and a Cause

One must be careful in assuming that xanthelasma indicates that one will have a heart attack or stroke at some point in their life.

It is vital to note that the studies conducted merely show a connection and do not prove that there is causality in the formation of these patches leading to heart disease. Xanthelasma has several causes, and many other factors affect the possibility of having heart disease.

These include family history, age, hypertension, diabetes, smoking, high cholesterol, obesity, lack of exercise, and diet among others.

Xanthelasma may simply be one of the reasons for considering consulting with a health care provider regarding one’s heart.

Steps That Can Support Better Heart Health

Despite the presence or absence of xanthelasma, management of known cardiovascular risk factors is still vital. Based on personal situations, some forms of prevention could be:

• Regular blood pressure checks
• Cholesterol levels should be kept in a safe range
• Blood sugar should be managed in addition to diabetes if applicable
• Quit smoking and tobacco use
• Healthy body weight
• Exercise regularly
• Nutrient-dense diet
• Medications taken as prescribed
• Medical visits

Knowledge of health measures for individuals can enable the detection of potential changes that could warrant attention as well.

Early Prevention Can Make a Difference

In some cases, atherosclerosis can go unnoticed without any clear symptoms, making prevention and monitoring of health more crucial than ever. In cases where there are visible signs, like xanthelasma, doctors will be able to gain an extra piece of information from the assessment of their patient’s cardiovascular health status.

According to the latest research, people suffering from xanthelasma may have a higher lifetime occurrence of cardiovascular problems. Further studies on the matter are required in order to clarify the nature of the phenomenon.

Conclusion

Even though xanthelasma looks like a simple issue that is more related to appearance rather than anything else, there is a new finding that yellowish patches near the eyes can also give a clue regarding one’s cardiovascular health status. However, one should understand that xanthelasma does not indicate that one will necessarily have a heart attack or stroke, and also it does not necessarily cause any cardiovascular problem.

However, it would be advisable to consult your physician if you have this condition. Checking blood pressure, cholesterol level, blood glucose levels, etc., can help detect the issue in advance.

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