Arteries and veins carry blood throughout your body, including your eyes. The eye’s retina has one main artery and one main vein. When the main retinal vein becomes blocked, it is called central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO). The most common symptom of CRVO is vision loss or blurry vision in part or all of one eye. It can happen suddenly or become worse over several hours or days. Sometimes, you can lose all vision suddenly.
You may notice floaters. These are dark spots, lines or squiggles in your vision. These are shadows from tiny clumps of blood leaking into the vitreous from retinal vessels. In some more severe cases of CRVO, you may feel pain and pressure in the affected eye. CRVO almost always happens only in one eye.
The blocked vein in CRVO cannot be unblocked. The main goal of treatment is to keep your vision stable. This is usually done by sealing off any leaking blood vessels in the retina. This helps prevent further swelling of the macula.
Your ophthalmologist may treat your CRVO with medication injections in the eye. The medicine can help reduce the swelling of the macula. Sometimes steroid medicine may be injected in the eye to help treat the swelling. Your Retina Care Center provider will determine the best treatment for you.