Abstract
Purpose: :
To investigate changes in the choroidal thickness during changes in the choroidal blood flow resulting from the increased systemic blood pressure induced by cold pressure test in healthy young subjects.
Methods: :
We examined 7 eyes of 7 healthy young Japanese subjects. The increased systemic blood pressure was induced by cold pressure test by submerging the subjects’ right hands in 4-5°C cold water for 5 minutes. Once each minute during the cold pressure test, we measured the subfoveal choroidal thickness using enhanced depth imaging optical coherence tomography and the total choroidal blood flow by measuring the pulsatile ocular blood flow with Langham OBF computerized tonometry. We also measured the systolic and diastolic blood pressures.
Results: :
One minute after the cold pressure test, the mean blood pressure increased (11.1% ± 3.2%) compared with the baseline. Two minutes after the clod pressure test, the choroidal blood flow increased by 7.9% ± 2.6% of the baseline. In contrast, there was no significant change in the subfoveal choroidal thickness flow during the cold pressure test.
Conclusions: :
Our results suggested that the increased mean blood pressure may cause increased choroidal blood flow. In addition, the increased choroidal blood flow did not attenuate the subfoveal choroidal thickness in healthy young subjects.
Keywords: choroid • imaging methods (CT, FA, ICG, MRI, OCT, RTA, SLO, ultrasound)