This may be particularly troubling to the estimated 20% of Americans who take low doses of aspirin daily for heart health. This wonderful drug which is linked with reducing risk for heart attack may now be associated with a rare risk to a patient's eyes, called age- related macular degeneration.
What is AMD?
Age- related macular degeneration (or AMD) is a progressive eye disease which affects millions of Americans every year. According to the Macular Degeneration Project, approximately 15 million Americans are affected by this progressive eye disease. AMD is associated with a progressive form of near blindness, wherein a patient's vision degenerates almost completely. Patients suffering from AMD can suffer near blindness except a fuzzy peripheral vision. Approximately 14-24% of Americans over the age of 65 suffer from this disease.
AMD can be recognized by the following symptoms:
- fuzzy vision
- a dark spot in the center of your vision, or lack of anything in the center of your vision
- dimmed vision when concentrating such as reading
- straight lines start to appear curved
How Aspirin May Contribute to AMD
Researchers claim that after 10 years, there was an association between aspirin use and AMD, wherein unusual blood vessels grew behind the eye's retina. Leaking blood or fluids caused a "wet" form of AMD, and according to researchers, this was more prevalent among regular aspirin users. The study asserts a stronger link to aspirin related "wet" AMD, although previous studies found no such links.
If you have developed "wet" AMD as a result of your aspirin usage, you should consult a physician right away. In addition, you may want to discuss your experience with a skilled product liability lawyer to determine if you are eligible to collect damages for your injury.
