2M.D., Izmir University Faculty of Medicine, Department of Ophthalmology, Izmir/TURKEY
3M.D. Asistant Professor, Izmir University Faculty of Medicine, Department of Cardiovascular Diseases, Izmir/TURKEY
4M.D. Associate Professor, Izmir University Faculty of Medicine, Department of Ophthalmology, Izmir/TURKEY Purpose: To assess the effects of the blood pressure regulation on the choroidal thickness of newly diagnosed hypertension patients.
Materials and Methods: The study consisted of 65 eyes of 65 (33 males and 32 females) newly diagnosed hipertension patients. The choroid was imaged using enhanced depth imaging spectral domain optical coherence tomography (3D OCT-2000, Topcon Corp., Tokyo, Japan). First OCT measurements were performed before treatment and second were obtained 1 month after strarting antihypertensive treatment. Choroidal thickness was measured at seven different points by two masked graders and the average value was used for analysis. The data were analyzed using paired t test.
Results: The mean age was 50.0±8.8 years (range, 45-59 years). The mean systolic blood pressure was 181.4±22.6 mm Hg before and 123.7±11.8 mm Hg after antihypertensive treatment. The mean choroidal thickness before treatment was 244.1±41.2 μm and 237.8±69.8 μm at first month after therapy. There was no statistically significance between mean choroidal thickness measurements before and after antihypertensive treatment (p=0.590)
Conclusion: The mean choroidal thickness does not change after blood pressure regulation in hypertensive patients. This may be related to regulation of ocular blood flow via sympathetic innervation and autoregulation.
Keywords : Choroidal thickness, hypertension, ocular blood flow regulation