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Damage of Retinal Arterioles in Hypertension

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Assessment of Preclinical Organ Damage in Hypertension

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Abstract

Hypertension has several effects on the retinal circulation. Assessment of retinal alterations has gained increasing interest, since it offers the unique opportunity to visualize human microvasculature noninvasively, directly, and repeatedly. This chapter is focused on the most established methods, funduscopy and scanning laser Doppler flowmetry (SLDF). Large-scale studies using funduscopy have shown that prevalence of retinal alterations is common in general and in particular in hypertensive patients. SLDF has expanded the notion of retinal changes due to functional and structural changes. Preliminary data suggest that these functional and structural changes, assessed with SLDF, can be improved by antihypertensive treatment. However, there are also unresolved questions, such as the prognostic value of changes in retinal parameters, since with both methods only indirect evidence exists that treatment-induced changes may be related to improved cardiovascular outcome.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Nephrology and Hypertension, University Hospital of the Friedrich-Alexander, University Erlangen-Nürnberg, Ulmenweg 18, Erlangen, 91054, Germany

    Christian Ott & Roland E. Schmieder

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  1. Christian Ott
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  2. Roland E. Schmieder
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Correspondence to Roland E. Schmieder .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Clinical and Experimental Sciences, University of Brescia, Brescia, Italy

    Enrico Agabiti Rosei

  2. IRCCS Istituto Auxologico Italiano, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milano, Italy

    Giuseppe Mancia

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Ott, C., Schmieder, R.E. (2015). Damage of Retinal Arterioles in Hypertension. In: Agabiti Rosei, E., Mancia, G. (eds) Assessment of Preclinical Organ Damage in Hypertension. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-15603-3_11

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-15603-3_11

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