On the first day after the National Day holiday, a 36-year-old female patient visited the ophthalmology department of Xiamen Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, where she could not see out of her left eye. She found that her left eye suddenly became blind when she was on her way to travel. Since it was not painful, she thought it was due to the strain of the trip and bought herself a bright eye drops for a few days. When she returned to Xiamen, she found that the vision in her left eye had not improved, and only then did she go to the hospital. After a detailed examination, the doctor diagnosed her with central retinal artery blockage, because it had been 6 days since the onset of the disease, the retina was ischemic and necrotic, and her vision could not be restored. Central retinal artery occlusion is an acute onset ophthalmic emergency that severely impairs vision. It is one of the most serious blinding eye diseases. Because it causes a sudden loss of vision, and once it occurs, even with relatively timely and effective treatment, only a very small percentage of patients have improved vision, and most have a very poor prognosis. The central retinal artery is the only source of nutrition for the inner retinal layer. Since this artery is a terminal artery, there is no anastomosis between branches. Once obstruction occurs, the blood supply to the inner retina is interrupted, causing acute ischemia and complete loss of vision immediately or within minutes. In some patients, there is an aura of transient blindness. Because the disease is completely painless when it strikes, some careless patients tend to ignore it and do not seek medical treatment in time, delaying the time to save their vision. Thrombosis, arterial embolism or spasm are common causes of retinal artery blockage. Elderly people with cardiovascular diseases such as hypertension and atherosclerosis should pay attention to them, while young people mostly occur in patients with rheumatic heart disease, bacterial endocarditis, systemic vasculitis, and patients with coagulopathy. The patient mentioned above was suffering from rheumatic heart disease for many years. Patients with these underlying diseases should pay attention to treatment to prevent the formation of thrombosis and blockage of arteries. In rabbit eyes, when the central artery was completely blocked, the retina became necrotic within half an hour; in macaques with atherosclerosis and arterial hypertension, almost all of the optic nerve atrophied after more than 4 hours of onset. The tolerance time of the human retina to ischemia is about 100 minutes, and some patients will recover their visual acuity to varying degrees if they seek medical attention in time within this period. Therefore, when central retinal artery occlusion occurs, medical attention should be sought as soon as possible to provide salvage treatment.