Regional ocular blood flow in patients with I-II stage hypertension and subclinical atherosclerosis

Abstract

Purpose: To investigate the state of blood flow in eye vessels and brachiocephalic arteries (BCA) in patients with arterial hypertension (AH) of stages 1 and 2 and subclinical atherosclerosis (SA) using modern methods of vessel imaging. Material and methods. Doppler ultrasound methods of investigation of retrobulbar vessels and caliber measurements of eye fundus vessels were used to examine 115 patients (230 eyes) aged 40-60 (averagely 48.7 ± 7.3 yrs) with mild hypertension and subclinical atherosclerosis, for whom the parameters of choroidal and retinal circulation were determined. Results.The maximum systolic velocity of blood flow in retrobulbar vessels were found to agree with the age norm in SA while the index of peripheral vascular resistance parameters in the system of retinal and choroidal circulation exceeds the norm. In stages 1 and 2 of AH, we detected increased peripheral resistance index in the short posterior ciliary arteries and reduced caliber of retinal arteries with no significant change of retinal venular caliber. In patients with combined pathology, the changes were more pronounced. Conclusions. Ultrasound duplex scanning of BCA helps diagnose early signs of the atherosclerotic process and vascular deformations (hypertonic macroangiopathy), which testify to the need for ocular blood flow monitoring in patients with stages 1 and 2 of AH and SA // Russian Ophthalmological Journal, 2016; 3: 26-33. doi: 10.21516/2072-0076-2016-9-3-25-33.

Keywords

• субклинический атеросклероз
• гемодинамика глаза
• цветовое допплеровское картирование
• калиброметрия
• subclinical atherosclerosis
• ocular blood flow
• color doppler imaging
• retinal vessel caliber measurement