Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 15, 2026
Retinal Vascular Reactivity as Assessed by Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography
Published on: March 26, 2020
Retinal blood flow autoregulation after dynamic exercise in healthy young subjects
Michele Iester1, Pier Giacomo Torre, Graziano Bricola
1Department of Neurological Sciences, Ophthalmology and Genetics, Clinica Oculistica, University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy. iester@unige.it
Purpose:
To evaluate the retinal blood flow before and after the increase in systemic blood pressure to assess the autoregulation in healthy young subjects.
Methods:
Twenty eyes of 20 healthy volunteers were examined. The retinal blood flow was assessed by a Heidelberg retina flowmeter (HRF), while the systemic pressure was assessed by a portable electronic sphygmomanometer. Furthermore intraocular pressure (IOP) was always measured by a Goldmann tonometer immediately after HRF assessments. All measurements of physiological and flow parameters were performed with the subjects seated at rest and then immediately after stair climbing.
Results:
The IOP decreased significantly after dynamic exercise, while the heart rate and the systemic artery pressure increased significantly. At the baseline, the mean retinal blood flow was 276.8 +/- 80.7 arbitrary units (AU) in the superotemporal area, 243.4 +/- 63.68 AU in the superonasal area, 258.2 +/- 67.37 AU in the inferotemporal area and 243.9 +/- 72.24 AU in the inferonasal area. After dynamic exercise the mean retinal blood flow was 249.8 +/- 86.78 AU in the superotemporal area, 248.7 +/- 63.87 AU in the superonasal area, 245.4 +/- 83.85 AU in the inferotemporal area and 228.8 +/- 62.53 AU in the inferonasal area. No significant change in retinal blood flow was found.
Conclusion:
Our data support the hypothesis that in normal subjects autoregulation is sufficient to compensate the increase in blood pressure and maintain a stable retinal blood flow after exercise.
