Amaurosis Fugax: A Clinical Comparison

Amaurosis fugax: a clinical comparison.

Amaurosis fugax (transient monocular blindness) is a symptom of retinal ischemia just as contralateral hemiparesis and sensory loss are symptoms of cerebral ischemia. These symptoms are produced by atherosclerotic stenosis of the carotid vessels at the ipsilateral carotid bifurcation and emboli from these areas causing focal, repetitive, retinal ischemia. A study of 31 endarterectomy patients w...

Amaurosis fugax in young adults.

EDITOR,-We read with interest the article by O'Sullivan et al.' The nine presented patients went through extensive investigations, including echocardiograms in all cases. Yet, no evidence of an embolic or atheromatous aetiology was found. Unfortunately, the authors failed to mention whether the echocardiography was transthoracic or transoesophageal. We had experience with a 29-year-old woman, w...

Amaurosis fugax in young people.

Nine young adults (median age 19.5 years) who suffered from amaurosis fugax (AF) are described. The attacks of AF were short in duration and preceded by premonitory symptoms in five cases and by a migrainous headache in two. In five patients the visual loss progressed in a lacunar pattern unlike the 'curtain' pattern characteristic of AF in older patients. Investigation revealed no evidence of ...

Arteriographic comparison of amaurosis fugax and hemispheric transient ischaemic attacks.

The results of carotid angiography were compared in 53 patients with amaurosis fugax and 92 with hemispheric transient ischaemic attacks (TIAs). Evidence of extracranial disease was found in 71% of those with retinal ischaemia and these patients rarely had evidence of intracranial disease (11%) or normal angiograms (15%). By contrast patients with hemispheric symptoms less frequently showed dis...

The natural history of amaurosis fugax.