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Updated: Jan 29, 2026

Retinal Vascular Reactivity as Assessed by Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography
Published on: March 26, 2020
Utility of optical coherence tomography angiography in detecting vascular retinal damage caused by arterial
Javier Pascual-Prieto1, Barbara Burgos-Blasco1, Mario Ávila Sánchez-Torija2
1Department of Ophthalmology, Hospital Clínico San Carlos, Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria San Carlos (IdISSC), Madrid, Spain.
Objective:
To evaluate the potential utility of perfusion density measurements to discriminate patients with arterial hypertension by cardiovascular risk category.
Methods:
In this cross-sectional study, one eye per subject was evaluated (N = 73). The study cohort was divided into three groups according to the clinical criteria established by the European Guidelines for Arterial Hypertension: 26 controls, 24 patients with low cardiovascular risk, and 23 patients with very high cardiovascular risk. All patients were examined using RS-3000 Advance optical coherence tomography angiography to analyze macular and peripapillary perfusion density.
Results:
There were no differences among the three risk groups by sex or age. Decreased macular perfusion density was found at the level of the superficial and deep plexuses (p ⩽ 0.047). No differences were observed in peripapillary perfusion density (p = 0.18).
Conclusion:
Optical coherence tomography angiography can detect changes in macular perfusion density in patients with hypertension and high cardiovascular risk and might represent a supportive imaging method in the evaluation of the cardiovascular risk in hypertensive patients.
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