E-POSTER DETAIL | 11th Asia Pacific Tele Ophthalmology Society Symposium

Title
Macular microcirculatory changes in patients with chronic heart failure

Authors
Favaz Dulani, Iuliia Kopchenova

Presenting
Favaz Dulani

PURPOSE:
This study aimed to identify macular microcirculatory alterations in patients with chronic heart failure (CHF) compared to healthy controls, exploring a potential non-invasive window into systemic microvascular dysfunction

METHODS:
In this observational, cross-sectional study, macular microcirculation was assessed using optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) on DRI OCT Triton in 40 CHF patients and 40 age-matched controls. More that 30 biomarkers were measured and analyzed. CHF severity was classified according to left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) from one hand, and New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional classification from the other

METHODS:

In this observational, cross-sectional study, macular microcirculation was assessed using optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) on DRI OCT Triton in 40 CHF patients and 40 age-matched controls. More that 30 biomarkers were measured and analyzed. CHF severity was classified according to left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) from one hand, and New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional classification from the other

RESULTS:
CHF patients exhibited significantly reduced vessel density (VD) in deep capillary plexus (DCP) (P<0.05) and choroid in parafoveal and perifoveal zones (P<0.05) compared to controls. The foveolar avascular zone (FAZ) in superficial capillary plexus (SCP) was decreased in II group (P<0.05) class II by NYHA, FAZ in DCP was decreased in III group (P<0.05) class III by NYHA however, without significant changes depending on ejection fraction (EF) in all CHF patients. The biomarker “average thickness of the perifoveal choroid” (ATPeriC) had a fairly strong strength of correlation (p = 0.589) (P<0.05) by Chaddock’s scale in III group class III by NYHA.

RESULTS:

CHF patients exhibited significantly reduced vessel density (VD) in deep capillary plexus (DCP) (P<0.05) and choroid in parafoveal and perifoveal zones (P<0.05) compared to controls. The foveolar avascular zone (FAZ) in superficial capillary plexus (SCP) was decreased in II group (P<0.05) class II by NYHA, FAZ in DCP was decreased in III group (P<0.05) class III by NYHA however, without significant changes depending on ejection fraction (EF) in all CHF patients. The biomarker “average thickness of the perifoveal choroid” (ATPeriC) had a fairly strong strength of correlation (p = 0.589) (P<0.05) by Chaddock’s scale in III group class III by NYHA.

CONCLUSIONS:
OCTA reveals significant macular microcirculatory impairment in CHF patients, characterized by decreased VD and FAZ, which correlate with heart failure severity. These findings suggest that retinal OCTA in general and ATPeriC in particular may serve as a valuable, non-invasive biomarker for evaluating systemic microvascular involvement in CHF.