Reduced cardiovascular risk score following bilateral cataract phacoemulsification surgery: A retrospective observational cohort study

Objective To assess the cardiovascular risk (CV risk) change following bilateral phacoemulsification cataract surgery. Methods We performed a retrospective observation cohort study on 112 selected patients who underwent uncomplicated bilateral cataract surgery at Centro Hospitalar de Entre o Douro e Vouga (CHEDV) between 2018 and 2019. This patient cohort was further subdivided in 2 different groups: Good VA - no to mild visual impairment, <= 0.48 LogMAR; Bad VA - moderate to severe visual impairment, >0.48 LogMAR. We compared the changes in the CV risk score components in our patient cohort and between subgroups Good VA and Bad VA, before and after surgery, using paired t-test or Wilcoxon rank-sum test, and repeated measures ANOVA with Tukey post-hoc tests, respectively. Visual Acuity (VA) before and after surgery was correlated with the patients' CV risk score. At last, linear regression models were built to explain changes in CV risk variables considering the change in VA. Results Cataract surgery resulted in improved VA. Notably, following surgery our patient cohort showed reduced low-density lipoprotein (LDL) levels after surgery, from 111.17 +/- 36.26 mg/dL to 104.22 +/- 37.53 mg/dL, and reduced systolic arterial pressure (SAP), from 139.1 +/- 15.0 mmHg to 133.7 +/- 12.0 mmHg. Ultimately, this translated to an improved CV risk score within 6 months of cataract surgery, from 17.39 +/- 11.44% to 16.51 +/- 11.27%. Of note, these improvements were mostly present in the Bad VA group of patients, where baseline VA and incidence of dyslipidemia were worse. Conclusion Our results suggest that phacoemulsification cataract surgery may be an important tool in addressing CV risk.