Abstract
Purpose:
To examine patterns of ambulatory blood pressure (BP) in patients with retinal vein occlusion (RVO) compared to patients without known eye disease. Failure of BP to dip during sleep (non-dipper pattern) is associated with cardiovascular disease (CVD) and stroke. The prevalence and degree of non-dipping in patients with RVO have not been previously examined.
Methods:
Of 120 patients with RVO seen at University of North Carolina Ophthalmology between January 2011 and June 2013, seventeen were successfully recruited to participate in this study. Control participants without known eye disease were selected based on matching age and sex. Following clinic BP measurements, 24-hour ambulatory BP measurements were performed with a minimum of 14 awake and 6 sleep measurements. Mean BP dipping, defined as the ratio of difference in mean awake and sleep systolic BPs to mean awake systolic BP, was compared between groups.
Results:
Mean 24-hour ambulatory BP was 146/80 mmHg (±17/9 mmHg) among those with RVO and 135/76 mmHg (±12/9 mmHg) for the comparison group. Patients with RVO had a two-fold higher prevalence of non-dipping nocturnal BP pattern (82.4 vs. 41.2%; p=0.013). Average sleep systolic BP dip in RVO patients was 5.9% vs. 12.1% in controls (p=0.007).
Conclusions:
Our data suggest an association between RVO and non-dipper nocturnal BP pattern. Ambulatory BP monitoring in RVO patients could identify more patients with hypertension than office blood pressure measurements alone, and potentially identify a larger group at risk of CVD and stroke.
Keywords: 749 vascular occlusion/vascular occlusive disease •
463 clinical (human) or epidemiologic studies: prevalence/incidence