Acute Visual Loss as the Presenting Complaint of Hereditary Hemorrhagic Telangiectasia

The complaint of new floaters in the visual field is a common one in the practice of Family Medicine. Whereas these can represent serious problems such as a detached retina, it can also be representative of normal aging of the vitreous humor. In a young patient with this complaint, we were surprised to find that this occurred because of a branch retinal artery occlusion that led to the diagnosis of hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasias, also known as Osler-Weber-Rendu syndrome. It was an uncommon presentation of an uncommon disease. Knowing more about this disease could help family practitioners diagnose it earlier and be able to screen family members appropriately.