Ocular manifestations of systemic hypertension

Recent population-based studies suggest that the fundus lesions of hypertension also occur in people without hypertension. In experimental studies, hypertensive lesions, which used to be the backbone of older classifications of the severity of hypertension, did not correlate sufficiently with severity to allow reliable grading. Hypertensive retinopathy, choroidopathy, and optic neuropathy are independent processes. Vascular narrowing appears to occur early in the disease process, whereas retinal hemorrhages and retinal lipid may occur later. Branch vein occlusion is a complication of hypertension, whereas open-angle glaucoma may not be. Choroidal neovascularization in the fellow eyes of patients with macular degeneration is associated with high blood pressure. Laser treatment for this disorder is less effective in patients with high blood pressure than it is in normotensive individuals, which suggests that choroidal neovascularization may be an expression of chronic hypertensive choroidopathy. Hypertensive optic neuropathy, a variant of ischemic optic neuropathy, has delayed onset compared with retinopathy and, in experimental studies, has not been linked to the severity of hypertension. Given these findings, it may be better to describe than to grade fundus lesions. In either event, it is important to take blood pressures accurately. Fundus lesions suggest high blood pressure. Sphygmomanometry is more specific and reliable than funduscopy in making that diagnosis.