Noninvasive vascular examination in amaurosis fugax

Patients with transient monocular blindness may have emboli from the carotid arteries or from the heart. Noninvasive evaluation of the carotids and the heart provide sufficient information to avoid invasive studies in patients unlikely to require surgical intervention for carotid stenosis and may provide a diagnosis if a cardiac source is responsible for the patients symptoms. Invasive procedures can be reserved for patients with sufficient abnormality and potential for surgical intervention to justify the risk involved with arteriography.