Hypertensive retinopathy in chronic hypertensive patients: a cross sectional study from Peshawar

Abstract

Background: Hypertension is one of the most prevalent health conditions around the globe. Long standing hypertension affects major organs like brain, kidneys and eyes. Persistent raised blood pressure may result in complications like stroke, coronary artery disease, renal damage, damage to retina, etc. Blood vessels of the retina are damaged in hypertensive retinopathy which not only threatens vision but is also an independent risk factor for cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease.

Objectives: To determine the magnitude of hypertensive retinopathy and its risk factors in chronic hypertensive patients attending a tertiary care hospital of Peshawar.

Material and Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted on a total of 110 hypertensive patients of Peshawar at Ophthalmology unit of Naseer Teaching Hospital, Peshawar from December 01, 2018, to May 30, 2019. Diagnosed hypertensive patients of more than 5 years duration were included in the study through convenience purposive sampling technique. After obtaining informed written consent, the data were collected using a self-administered, closed ended questionnaire followed by detailed ophthalmological examination for diagnosis of hypertensive retinopathy and subsequently analyzed for descriptive statistics using SPSS version 20.

Results: Out of the total 110 patients, 68(61.81%) were females while 42(38.18%) were males. Mean age of the patients was 53.80 ± 8 years; 31(28.18%) of the patients were found to have retinopathy due to hypertension. Hypertensive retinopathy affected more males (n=21, 30.88%) as compared to females (n=10, 23.80%). Older patients over 45 years of age who had more than 5 years history of hypertension were affected more as compared to younger hypertensive patients.

Conclusion: Retinopathy is present in a sizeable proportion of patients with longstanding hypertension. The identified risk factors included male gender, advancing age (>45years) and longer duration of hypertension (>5 years).