Silent myocardial ischemia in glaucoma and cataract patients

Background: Glaucoma and cataract are multifactorial diseases. They have been described to be associated with cardiovascular risk factors. Methods: Twenty-four-hour ECG monitoring was done in 22 normal-tension glaucoma patients, 27 open-angle glaucoma patients, 25 cataract patients, and 20 normal controls. The frequency of silent myocardial ischemia (SMI) as well as that of ventricular extrasystoles (VES) was evaluated. Results: At least one episode of significant asymptomatic ST-T segment depression occurred in 45% of the normal-tension glaucomas, in 25.9% of open-angle glaucomas, in 12% of cataract patients, and in 5% of normal controls. The frequency of VES was not significantly different among the groups. Conclusions: Glaucoma, especially normal-tension glaucoma, is significantly associated with the occurrence of episodic asymptomatic myocardial ischemias. Cataract patients, however, had only a slightly, statistically not significantly increased frequency of both SMI and VES compared with normals.