Glenna

My husband had an episode wherein his right eye lost vision because there was a strobing light going on within the eye.  He lost his balance and had to sit down for a while.  He has not had another episode but I worry about this.   I am concerned that it could be a problem within the eye or a warning that he could be prone to a stroke because he is 67.   What could this possibly be?

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS, FAAO]

At his age it would be very important to rull out a TIA (transient ischemic stroke) due to disease of the heart, brain or cerebral blood vessels. This episode cannot be attributed to an eye migraine until a complete work-up has been done to rule out the aforementioned diseases.

Older individuals having episodes of transient blindness (amaurosis) are at higher risk for strokes.

He needs to see an ophthalmologist and an internist or highly qualified geneeral practitioner in the very near future. Not acting on this warning symptom is a big mistake.

JCH III MD

[Geejay1]

Thank you very much.  You confirmed my suspicion that this should not be ignored as he would like to do.  The next step is to get him to a doctor which will not be easy but it will happen.

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS, FAAO]

You can go to the website of the American Academy of Ophthalmology and use the Find An Eye MD feature to locate a Eye MD near you, you can also locate specific subspecialties such as neuro-ophthalmology.

JCH III MD