[Status of the cardiovascular system in patients with normal pressure glaucoma]

Twenty patients with normal pressure glaucoma (NPD) were examined. Concomitant cardiovascular diseases were diagnosed in 19 (95%) of them. Echocardioscopy with color mapping showed various diseases with left-ventricular dysfunction in 8 examinees. Dopplerography of orbital vessels showed a significant decrease of bloodflow velocity in the orbital artery and increased peripheral resistance indexes in the orbital and central retinal arteries in 20 NPD patients in comparison with healthy controls (p < 0.05, p < 0.01). Atherosclerotic involvement of the internal carotid artery was detected in 15 of 20 patients, in 4 of these with hemodynamically significant sclerosis of more than 50%. The contribution of cardiovascular disease to decrease of orbital bloodflow is discussed.