Xanthelasmata

Eyelids Hold Clue to Heart Disease

By Ed Susman, Contributing Writer, MedPage Today Published: November 16, 2010 Reviewed by Dori F. Zaleznik, MD; Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston and Dorothy Caputo, MA, RN, BC-ADM, CDE, Nurse Planner Action Points   Note that this study was published as an abstract and presented at a conference. These data and conclusions should be considered to be preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal. Explain that a large Danish study found an increased risk of myocardial infarction, ischemic heart disease, and death in patients with xanthelasmata followed for 33 years. Note that the investigators conclude that xanthelasmata may be cutaneous manifestations of atherosclerosis and do not necessarily correlate with hypercholesterolemia. CHICAGO -- Looking a patient square in the eye appears to give doctors an insight into the health of the patient's heart. Researchers here said that patients who exhibit xanthelasmata -- cholesterol deposits on the eyelids -- are at significant increased risk of heart attacks, ischemic heart disease, and death. In a massive observational, prospective study that spanned 33 years, researchers in Denmark found that when these yellowish lesions are observed, the risk of suffering a heart attack is increased 51% (P<0.001); the risk of suffering ischemic heart disease was increased 40% (P<0.0001); and the risk of death was increased 17% (P<0.0001) when compared with individuals who did not exhibit xanthelasmata. "The prevalence of xanthelasmata in our study is 4.4%, which corresponds to 572 individuals presenting with xanthelasmata at baseline," said Mette Christoffersen, PharmD, and a PhD candidate at Rigshospitalet, University of Copenhagen Hospital, Denmark.