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Target organ damage in hypertensive patients: correlation between retinal arteriovenular ratio and left ventricular

R Meazza1, C Scardino2, L Grosso Di Palma1

  • 1Fondazione I.R.C.C.S. Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Milano, Italy.

Journal of Human Hypertension
|August 2, 2013
PubMed

Insights

Hypertensive patients with target organ damage show reduced retinal arteriolar narrowing ratio (AVR). This retinal microcirculation measure may aid in cardiovascular risk stratification and patient management.

Area of Science:

  • Ophthalmology
  • Cardiology
  • Hypertension Research

Background:

  • Early cardiovascular risk evaluation in hypertensive patients is crucial.
  • Retinal vessel analysis offers a potential non-invasive method for assessing target organ damage.
  • Left ventricular remodeling (LVR) and hypertrophy (LVH) are key indicators of target organ damage in hypertension.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the correlation between retinal vessel changes and target organ damage (TOD) in treated hypertensive individuals.
  • To assess if retinal arteriolar narrowing, measured by arteriovenular ratio (AVR), differs between hypertensive patients with and without TOD (LVR/LVH).

Main Methods:

  • Sixty treated hypertensive patients were divided into two groups based on echocardiographic evidence of TOD (Group A) or absence of TOD (Group B).
  • Non-mydriatic digital retinography was performed on both groups.
  • Retinal images were analyzed using specialized software to calculate the arteriolar-to-venular ratio (AVR).

Main Results:

  • Hypertensive patients with TOD (Group A) exhibited a significantly lower mean AVR (0.77) compared to those without TOD (Group B, 0.86).
  • Subgroup analysis showed a mean AVR of 0.76 in patients with LVR and 0.77 in patients with LVH.
  • These differences in AVR were statistically significant (P<0.05).

Conclusions:

  • Retinal arteriolar narrowing, quantified by AVR, correlates with the presence of target organ damage (LVR/LVH) in hypertensive patients.
  • AVR provides insights into retinal microcirculation and indirectly reflects left ventricular geometric patterns.
  • AVR may serve as a valuable tool for cardiovascular risk stratification and optimizing management in hypertensive patients.

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