Retinal venous thrombosis in a hypertensive patient

Uncontrolled hypertension increases the risk of developing lesions in target organs, including the central nervous system, of which the retina forms part. Thus, when a hypertensive patient presents a sudden loss of visual acuity, the possibility of its being caused by a cerebrovascular accident due...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inPA AP no. 45; p. 26
Main Authors H. Roig Carrera, M. Benítez Camps
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Barcelona Ediciones Mayo 01.05.2006
Subjects
Eyes & eyesight
Hypertension
Nervous system
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Summary:Uncontrolled hypertension increases the risk of developing lesions in target organs, including the central nervous system, of which the retina forms part. Thus, when a hypertensive patient presents a sudden loss of visual acuity, the possibility of its being caused by a cerebrovascular accident due to retinal thrombosis secondary to hypertension should be taken in account, although other etiologies, such as low cerebral blood fl ow and drug-induced thrombophilia, should be considered. We report the case of a hypertensive woman who presented retinal venous thrombosis, coinciding with the initiation of diuretic therapy. We questioned whether the diuretics could have been involved in the occurrence of this event. We found no evidence of a possible thrombophilic effect of diuretics in the literature reviewed, and we ruled out low cerebral blood fl ow as the cause since the thrombosis presented in venous territory in a patient who continued to be hypertensive. Thus, we attributed the thrombosis to hypertension and undertook the necessary therapeutic measures that this implies. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]
ISSN:1139-1596