Xanthelasma leads to pale, puffy patches around the eyes. (Nadezhda Dorokhova/iStock/Getty Images Plus)
Atherosclerosis, the accumulation of fatty plaques in the arteries that causes restricted blood flow, is responsible for most heart attacks and strokes – but it often builds up slowly and silently, without symptoms, before causing a major medical emergency.That's why researchers are looking for warning signs of atherosclerosis that might help doctors spot it earlier. A new study, published in Atherosclerosis, looks at a condition called xanthelasma, where yellow patches appear around the eyes.Those patches puff up when immune cells called macrophages get stuffed with cholesterol and other fats. The condition is often (but not always) associated with higher cholesterol in the blood, too. As fatty clumps also play a role in atherosclerosis, researchers at Stanford University thought there might be a link.The patches that characterize xanthelasma are filled with cholesterol and other fats. (Yavaria et al., Atherosclerosis, 2026)"A few studies have supported the association between xanthelasma and an increased risk of cardiovascular events, while others debate that it may not be an independent risk factor once traditional risk factors are accounted for," Stanford ophthalmology researcher Negin Yavari and colleagues write in their published paper."As research continues to elucidate the relationship between xanthelasma and cardio-cerebrovascular risk factors, we aimed to evaluate the association between xanthelasma and major cardio-cerebrovascular events (MACCEs) in a large study population."The study analyzed health data from 17,925 people diagnosed with xanthelasma and the same number of matched controls – people with presbyopia, a condition that leads to farsightedness, chosen because it would have involved an eye examination, ensuring the controls didn't have xanthelasma.
