Fred Hollows Lecture: Hypertensive retinopathy - a journey from fundoscopy to digital imaging

Abstract

Hypertensive retinopathy refers to a spectrum of retinal microvascular signs that develop in response to elevated blood pressure. These signs are broadly divided into localized signs (focal retinal arteriolar narrowing, arteriovenous nicking, retinal haemorrhages, cotton wool spots, hard exudates and microaneurysms) and diffuse signs (generalized retinal arteriolar narrowing, arterial wall opacification and optic disc oedema). Although their association with systemic morbidity was recognized more than a century ago, the prognostic significance of hypertensive retinopathy has not received much attention. In large part, this is because clinical assessment of hypertensive retinopathy signs with..