A symptomatic retinal artery occlusion is an ophthalmic emergency that requires immediate evaluation and transfer to a stroke center. It is an obstruction of retinal blood flow that may be due to an embolus causing occlusion or thrombus formation, vasculitis causing retinal vasculature inflammation, traumatic vessel wall damage, or spasm. The lack of oxygen delivery to the retina during the blockage often results in severe vision loss in the area of ischemic retina.
Patients typically describe sudden, painless, vision loss that occurs over seconds. Visual acuity may vary depending on the location of the obstruction. Complete vision loss to no light perception should raise suspicion of an ophthalmic artery occlusion.