Retinal scans can carry signs of atrial fibrillation as early as four years before the condition is formally diagnosed, according to a study led by researchers at University College London and Moorfields. Writing in PLOS Digital Health, the team analysed retinal imaging data from more than 90,000 people and identified structural differences in the retinas of those with atrial fibrillation compared with people who did not have it.
Atrial fibrillation is the most common heart rhythm disorder and affects more than 1.5 million people in the UK. It substantially raises the risk of stroke, heart failure and death, yet it is easy to miss: because the irregular rhythm often comes and goes, a standard electrocardiogram taken at a single moment can look entirely normal. Many people therefore only learn they have the condition after a serious or life-threatening complication.
That diagnostic gap is what the researchers were aiming at. Retinal imaging is already performed routinely in community optometry practices and hospital eye clinics, which makes it an unusually practical place to look for early warning signs. The team wanted to test whether those existing scans could be used as a non-invasive way to flag people with atrial fibrillation before a stroke or heart attack brings the condition to light.
The appeal here is infrastructure rather than new technology. If retinal features reliably signal an underlying rhythm disorder, the equipment and the appointments needed to spot it largely exist already - a very different proposition from rolling out a new screening programme from scratch.