Retinal Vein OcclusionSymptoms, Doctors, Treatments, Advances & More
Learn About Retinal Vein Occlusion
Retinal vein occlusion is a blockage of a small vein that carry blood away from the retina. The retina is the layer of tissue at the back of the inner eye that converts light images to nerve signals and sends them to the brain.
Central retinal vein occlusion; CRVO; Branch retinal vein occlusion; BRVO; Vision loss - retinal vein occlusion; Blurry vision - retinal vein occlusion
Retinal vein occlusion is most often caused by hardening of the arteries (atherosclerosis) and the formation of a blood clot.
Blockage of smaller veins (branch veins or BRVO) in the retina often occurs in places where retinal arteries that have been thickened or hardened by atherosclerosis cross over and place pressure on a retinal vein.
Risk factors for retinal vein occlusion include:
- Atherosclerosis
- Diabetes
- High blood pressure (hypertension)
- Other eye conditions, such as glaucoma, macular edema, or vitreous hemorrhage
The risk of these disorders increases with age; therefore retinal vein occlusion most often affects older people.
Blockage of retinal veins may cause other eye problems, including:
- Glaucoma (high pressure in the eye), caused by new, abnormal blood vessels growing in the front part of the eye
- Macular edema, caused by the leakage of fluid in the retina
Symptoms include sudden blurring or vision loss in all (central retinal vein occlusion) or part (branch retinal vein occlusion) of the field of view in one eye.
Many people will regain vision, even without treatment. However, vision rarely returns to normal. There is no way to reverse or open the blockage.
You may need treatment to prevent another blockage from forming in the same or the other eye.
- It's important to manage diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol levels.
- Some people may need to take aspirin or other blood thinners.
Treatment for the complications of retinal vein occlusion may include:
- Focal laser treatment, if macular edema is present.
- Injections of anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) medicines into the eye. These medicines may block the growth of new blood vessels that can cause glaucoma.
- Laser treatment to prevent the growth of new, abnormal blood vessels that leads to glaucoma.
Tennessee Retina
Akshay Thomas is an Ophthalmologist practicing medicine in Clarksville, Tennessee. Dr. Thomas is rated as an Elite provider by MediFind in the treatment of Retinal Vein Occlusion. He is also highly rated in 14 other conditions, according to our data. His clinical expertise encompasses Retinal Vein Occlusion, Uveitis, Age-Related Macular Degeneration (ARMD), Late-Onset Retinal Degeneration, and Vitrectomy. Dr. Thomas is board certified in The American Board Of Ophthalmology - Ophthalmology. Dr. Thomas is currently accepting new patients.
David Boyer is an Ophthalmologist practicing medicine in Encino, California. Dr. Boyer is rated as an Elite provider by MediFind in the treatment of Retinal Vein Occlusion. He is also highly rated in 26 other conditions, according to our data. His clinical expertise encompasses Diabetic Macular Edema (DME), Age-Related Macular Degeneration (ARMD), Late-Onset Retinal Degeneration, Vitrectomy, and Trabeculectomy. Dr. Boyer is board certified in American Board Of Ophthalmology. Dr. Boyer is currently accepting new patients.
Ursula Erfurth-Schmidt practices practicing medicine in Vienna, Austria. Ms. Erfurth-Schmidt is rated as an Elite expert by MediFind in the treatment of Retinal Vein Occlusion. She is also highly rated in 16 other conditions, according to our data. Her clinical expertise encompasses Age-Related Macular Degeneration (ARMD), Late-Onset Retinal Degeneration, Geographic Atrophy, Vitrectomy, and Cataract Removal.
The outcome varies. People with retinal vein occlusion often regain useful vision.
It is important to properly manage conditions such as macular edema and glaucoma. However, having either of these complications is more likely to lead to a poor outcome.
Complications may include:
- Glaucoma
- Partial or complete vision loss in the affected eye
Contact your provider if you have sudden blurring or vision loss.
Retinal vein occlusion is a sign of a general blood vessel (vascular) disease. Measures used to prevent other blood vessel diseases may decrease the risk for retinal vein occlusion.
These measures include:
- Eating a low-fat diet
- Getting regular exercise
- Maintaining an ideal weight
- Not smoking
Aspirin or other blood thinners may help prevent blockages in the other eye.
Controlling diabetes may help prevent retinal vein occlusion.
Background: \- To understand diseases of the retina and the eye, information is needed about people with and without such diseases. Researchers want to study these people and follow them over time. They also want to study body tissues and blood to understand the nature of eye disease. Studying genes, cells, and tissues may help them understand why some people get eye problems and others do not, or why some pe...
Summary: EYE-RES-104 is a randomized, dose-masked study of intravitreal EYE103 in participants with neovascular age-related macular degeneration (NVAMD) or macular edema following branch retinal vein occlusion (BRVO). The study will consist of 4 patient cohorts, with participants in each cohort randomized (1:1) to either a low dose of EYE103 via IVT or a high dose of EYE103 via IVT. 40 participants will be...
Published Date: January 27, 2026
Published By: Franklin W. Lusby, MD, Ophthalmologist, Lusby Vision Institute, La Jolla, CA. Also reviewed by David C. Dugdale, MD, Medical Director, Brenda Conaway, Editorial Director, and the A.D.A.M. Editorial team.
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Kovach JL, Bailey ST, Kim SJ, et al. Retinal vein occlusions Preferred Practice Pattern®. Ophthalmology. 2025;132(4):P303-P343. PMID: 39918523 pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39918523/.