Findings can lead to a simple screening process to predict the risk of a heart attack

By combining information about retinal vascular patterns with genetic data, you can accurately predict the risk of an individual’s coronary artery disease (CAD) and its potentially fatal consequence, myocardial infarction (MI). This is commonly known as a heart attack. This finding could lead to a simple screening process that can calculate MI risk when a person undergoes regular vision tests. Researchers will speak to the annual meeting of the European Society of Human Genetics today (Monday).

We already knew that changes in the retinal vasculature may provide insights into our health. Since retinal images are a non-invasive technique, we decided to investigate the health benefits of these images. First, we studied the bifurcation pattern of the retinal vasculature by calculating a measurement named fractal dimension (Df) from data available from UK Biobank (UKB). The UKB contains demographic, epidemiological, clinical, imaging, and genotypic data from over 500,000 participants across the UK. The lower Df, simplified vascular bifurcation pattern was found to be associated with CAD, and therefore MI. “

Ms Ana Villaplana-Velasco, Ph.D. student at the University of Edinburgh Asher and Roslyn Institute, University of Edinburgh, UK

Next, researchers developed a model that could predict MI risk prediction by studying UKB participants who experienced MI events after collecting retinal images. In addition to Df, the model included traditional clinical factors such as age, gender, systolic blood pressure, obesity index, and smoking status, and calculated individual MI risks. “Surprisingly, we found that the UKB could better classify participants with low or high MI risk when compared to an established model that included only demographic data. Scores related to genetic data. With the addition, the improvement in the model was even higher. The tendency to develop MI, “said Villaplana-Velasco.

“I wondered if the Df-MI association was influenced by shared biology, so when I examined the genetics of Df, I found nine gene regions that drive the bifurcation pattern of the retinal vessels. Four of these regions are known to be involved in the genetics of cardiovascular disease, and these common genetic regions are involved in processes related to MI severity and recovery. I found out that. “

These findings may also help identify trends in other illnesses. Changes in retinal vascular patterns also reflect the development of other ocular and systemic disorders such as diabetic retinopathy and stroke. Researchers believe that every condition may have a unique retinal variability profile. “I would like to investigate this further and perform a gender-specific analysis. I know that women at high risk of MI or CAD tend to have more pronounced retinal vascular deviance compared to the male population. I would like to repeat. We will analyze separately for men and women to investigate whether a gender-specific model of MI completes a better risk classification, “says Villaplana-Velasco.

Researchers knew that changes in the retinal vasculature were associated with an individual’s health, but their compelling results were surprising. “There have been multiple attempts to improve CAD and MI risk prediction models taking into account retinal vascular properties, but these did not show significant improvement when compared to established models. Myocardial infarction events are central to the successful development of predictive models and underpin the need to develop robust disease definitions in large studies such as the UKB. Validating MI definitions, the model works very well. I found out that I would do it, “said Villaplana-Velasco.

In the future, a simple retinal examination may provide enough information to identify a person at risk. The average age of MI is 60 years, and researchers found that the model achieved the best predicted performance more than 5 years before the MI event. “Therefore, the calculation of individual MI risks from patients over the age of 50 seems appropriate,” says Villaplan-Velasco. “This allows doctors to suggest actions that can reduce risk, such as quitting smoking and maintaining normal cholesterol and blood pressure. Our job is to collect data on a regular basis. The importance of comprehensive analysis and personalized medicine. “

Professor Alexander Raymond, chair of the conference, said: