Retinal blood flow autoregulation in response to an acute increase in blood pressure

The response of the retinal circulation to an acute elevation in systemic blood pressure was studied in three healthy normotensive volunteers using the noninvasive laser Doppler velocimetry (LDV) technique combined with retinal vessel size measurements. Isometric exercise was employed to induce the acute rise in arterial pressure. There was no detectable change in retinal blood flow until the mean brachial artery blood pressure was elevated to an average of 115 mm Hg, which represented an average rise in mean blood pressure of 41% above baseline values. Above this value, blood flow increased along with further increments in blood pressure. The parallel rise between the ophthalmic artery pressure and the brachial artery pressure indicates that the regulation of retinal blood flow observed in the above mentioned pressure range is achieved through an increase in retinal vascular resistance rather than by a mechanism that would act to maintain a constant ocular perfusion pressure.