Bill Harvey: The fat of the land

The following headline appeared in the national press this week: ‘Simple eye examination could predict heart attack risk, says study.’

What’s new? I hear you ask. One of the key features of retinal examination is a good look at the retinal arteries and veins to make sure they are of a regular calibre, that arteriovenous crossings are not showing excessive nipping or deviation of the underlying vessel, that the arteriolar surface is not too ‘silvery’ in appearance and, certainly, to rule out any evidence of leakage, such as haemorrhages or signs of oedema. Leakage aside, the other changes I mention are signs of arteriosclerosis, the slow, unevenly distributed degradation in elasticity of vessel walls with age.