The Eye-image Features of Patients with Coronary Heart Disease Assed: A prospective, observational study of traditional Chinese medicine combined with modern medicine

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Coronary heart disease (CHD) significantly impacts human health. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) suggests a possible correlation between eye-image and CHD, but this relationship has not been fully explored in Western medicine. PURPOSE: We aim to investigate the potential causal relationship between eye-image features and CHD, as examined by coronary angiography (CAG). METHODS: The study selected patients hospitalized in the Department of Cardiology from November 15, 2021, to February 27, 2022. The selected patients were divided into two groups based on their CAG findings: the CHD group (at least one coronary lesion stenosis≥ 50%) and the control group (lesion stenosis<50%) RESURTS: The final analysis included 342 patients out of a total of 426 participants, of these, 165 patients (48.2%) were diagnosed with CHD. The study found that certain characteristics in the left region 5(L5) and right region ( R5) were associated with CHD, including L5 pink dark speckle (OR: 4.143, 95%CI: 1.135-15.124, P=0.031), L5 vascular tortuosity (OR: 0.234, 95%CI: 0.077- 0.71, P=0.010) R5 dark red blood vessels (known as Xue mai in TCM) (OR: 1.683, 95%CI: 1.035-2.738, P=0.036), and R5 yellowish mounds (OR: 2.083, 95%CI: 1.221-3.554, P= 0.007). Multivariate regression analyses showed that L5 vascular tortuosity had a negative correlation with CHD. CONCLUSION: Our study revealed that four types of eye-image features, namely pink dark speckle, vascular tortuosity, dark red blood vessels, and yellowish mounds are associated with CHD. Among these features, vascular tortuosity showed a negative correlation with CHD, which could potentially aid in the diagnosis of the disease. Key words: Eye-image; Coronary heart disease; Traditional Chinese medicine