Most people think of a stroke as something that happens in the brain. But for Dr. Jay Avasarala, a neurologist at the University of Kentucky, a “stroke of the eye” is just as serious—and just as urgent.
His latest study shows that many hospitals around the world are missing this dangerous condition, leaving patients at risk of going blind when their vision could have been saved.
The condition is called giant cell arteritis, or GCA. It’s an inflammatory disease that causes the body’s immune system to attack its own blood vessels, often affecting older adults. GCA can lead to headaches, jaw pain, vision problems, and even strokes or damage to the aorta. But when it blocks blood flow to the eye, it can cause sudden and permanent vision loss.
Dr. Avasarala’s research, published in The American Journal of Emergency Medicine, reveals that many emergency rooms fail to test for GCA in patients over 50 who show up with sudden vision problems.
Using data from both the University of Kentucky and a nationwide health platform with nearly 300 million patients, the study found that more than 60% of these patients didn’t receive any testing for GCA. In some groups, this number was even higher—up to 94%.
Even when tests were done, they were often performed too late. Many patients had already been given steroid medication, which can reduce inflammation and make test results harder to interpret. According to Dr. Avasarala, early testing—before steroids—gives the best chance to catch GCA and prevent vision loss.
The good news is that a simple test called temporal artery ultrasound (TAUS) could change everything. TAUS is fast, painless, and can be done right in the emergency room.
It uses sound waves to check for swelling in the arteries near the temple, which is a key sign of GCA. In the study, TAUS was the most reliable tool for making the correct diagnosis—better even than the traditional biopsy, which is slower, invasive, and often unavailable in real time.
Dr. Avasarala believes TAUS should become part of standard emergency room protocols worldwide. By doing so, doctors could quickly identify GCA, start treatment with steroids, and prevent patients from going blind.
He argues that GCA should be treated with the same urgency as a stroke. Just like hospitals have “Get With The Guidelines” for stroke care, he suggests similar rules should be made for GCA.
This research is more than just a local call to action. In another paper, published in the Journal of Rheumatology, Dr. Avasarala and his team outlined a plan to use artificial intelligence and cloud-based tools to bring GCA diagnosis to any hospital, no matter how small or remote.
With portable ultrasound devices and AI support, doctors could detect GCA in emergency rooms, ambulances, or rural clinics.
The goal is simple: prevent blindness. The tools already exist. Now, it’s about using them effectively.
Dr. Avasarala’s message is clear—no one should lose their vision from GCA. With better awareness, faster testing, and updated hospital protocols, blindness from this disease can become a thing of the past.
If you care about stroke, please read studies about how to eat to prevent stroke, and diets high in flavonoids could help reduce stroke risk.
For more health information, please see recent studies about how Mediterranean diet could protect your brain health, and wild blueberries can benefit your heart and brain.
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