Your eyes are no different than any other part of your body. For instance, your eyes can suffer damage when the structures like the optic nerve or retina no longer receive the oxygen and nutrients which flow through your blood. Thus, eye strokes can occur when the veins and arteries are blocked. This causes decreased vision or other symptoms. How severe the vision loss is depends on two aspects, the location of the problem and the extent of the damage.

Symptoms

Symptoms can vary according to the type of eye stroke you have. Eye strokes can happen in one or both eyes. With eye strokes no pain occurs. However, the symptoms can be mild or severe. Symptoms include distorted vision or partial vision loss. In addition, you can have a completely loss of vision. So you may feel like a curtain has been pulled over your eyes. Other symptoms of eye stroke include blind spots and loss of peripheral vision. Symptoms can last in 15 to 20 minute episodes or longer.

Branch Retinal Causes

With branch retinal artery occlusion (BRAO), there is a sudden loss of peripheral vision caused by plaque. The plaque or clots break loose from the main artery in the chambers or valves in the heart or the neck. Branch Retinal Vein Occlusion (BRVO) involves one eye and is caused by diabetes and high blood pressure. With BRVO, the localized clot in the branch retinal vein causes hardening of the arteries.

Branch Retinal Symptoms

Eye strokes which involve the branch retinal vein occlusions have symptoms of decreased vision, blind spots and vision which looked fuzzy or unclear. However, with BRAO, the abrupt loss of peripheral or central vision may be the only symptoms you have. According to All About Vision, individuals who suffer from BRAO eye stroke symptoms can become distortions or blind spots can become permanent.

Central Retinal Causes

Central retinal artery occlusion (CRAO) is caused by an embolus or clot which travels from the neck or heart to the retina. The clots will block the blood flow to the retina. The underlying causes of CRAO are cardiac valvular disease and diabetes. With central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO) is caused by chronic open-angle glaucoma with or without significant hardening of the arteries or high blood pressure.

Central Retinal Symptoms

Individuals with CRAO experience such profound and sudden loss of vision that they could barely count fingers in front of their faces or can’t see light. These symptoms can become permanent even when the embolus is dislodged within 90 minutes of the eye stroke’s occurrence. With CRVO, the symptoms include mild to severe vision loss.

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